Shloka 8
शूरलक्षणवर्णनम् | Marks and Typologies of Martial Temperament
मृगस्वरा द्वीपिनेत्रा ऋषभाक्षास्तरस्विन: । प्रमादिनश्न मन्दाश्ष क्रोधना: किडुकिणीस्वना:
mṛgasvarā dvīpinetrā ṛṣabhākṣās tarasvinaḥ | pramādinaś ca mandāś ca krodhanāḥ kiḍukiṇīsvanāḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Yaong ang tinig ay tulad ng sa usa, ang mga mata’y gaya ng sa tigresang babae, at ang titig ay parang sa torong baka, karaniwa’y matapang at mabilis, ngunit madaling magpabaya at mapurol sa paghatol. At yaong ang tunog ng lalamunan ay matamis na parang kalansing ng maliliit na kampanilya, sa likas na ugali’y labis na madaling magalit.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma links outward traits (voice and eyes) with inner dispositions (speed, heedlessness, dullness, anger), urging discernment in judging temperament and in choosing whom to trust or empower—an ethical lesson in careful evaluation and self-restraint.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and practical governance. Here he gives a diagnostic observation about human nature—how certain observable features are traditionally taken as indicators of behavioral tendencies.