Shloka 48
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
ऊर्ध्वदृष्टिमहालिड्री मुखाज्ज्वाला: समुत्सृजन् । विकुर्वन् बहुधा वर्णान् नीलपाण्डुरलोहितान्
ūrdhvadṛṣṭir mahāliṅgī mukhāj jvālāḥ samutsṛjan | vikurvan bahudhā varṇān nīlapāṇḍuralohitān ||
ऊर्ध्वदृष्टिर्महालीड्री मुखाज्ज्वालाः समुत्सृजन् । विकुर्वन् बहुधा वर्णान् नीलपाण्डुरलोहितान् ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary manifestations—flames, upward-fixed gaze, and shifting colors—function as liṅgas (signs) indicating a being or force operating beyond ordinary dharma-bound human capacity. Ethically, it cautions the listener to read such signs with discernment: power and spectacle are not themselves virtue, but they signal a heightened, potentially consequential presence that demands careful response.
Bhīṣma describes a formidable figure whose eyes are turned upward, who bears a prominent distinguishing mark, and who emits flames from the mouth while displaying multiple colors—blue, pale-white, and red—suggesting a terrifying, supernatural or portentous appearance being witnessed or recalled within the Śānti Parva discourse.