Shloka 17
शूरलक्षणवर्णनम् | Marks and Typologies of Martial Temperament
उद्धता इव सुग्रीवा विनताविहगा इव । पिण्डशीर्षातिवक्त्रा श्व वृषदंशमुखास्तथा
uddhatā iva sugrīvā vinatāvihagā iva | piṇḍaśīrṣātivaktrāś ca vṛṣadaṁśamukhās tathā ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “May mga lalaking mapusok at mapagmataas—gaya ng mga kabayong uri ni Sugrīva—at likas na hindi mapakali gaya ng mga ibon ni Vinatā (angkan ni Garuḍa). May mga bilog ang ulo at labis ang laki ng bibig; ang iba nama’y mukhang asong mabangis na kumakagat sa toro. Magaspang ang tinig, madaling magngalit, at gumagala sa digmaan na umuungal. Wala silang pagkilala sa dharma, namamaga sa kapalaluan, at nakapangingilabot ang anyo; ang masilayan pa lamang ay nakapagdudulot ng takot.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma warns that outwardly fearsome, loud, and aggressive temperaments—marked by pride and uncontrolled anger—often correlate with a lack of dharma-jñāna (ethical discernment). The passage critiques intimidation and battle-roaring as signs of inner disorder rather than virtue.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and conduct. Here he describes certain harsh, terrifying human types through vivid animal and mythic similes (Sugrīva-type horses; Vinatā’s birds), emphasizing their violent disposition and ethical blindness.