Shloka 31
Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)
बृहत् शरीरश्न पुनश्वलीरवासा: पुन: कृश: । गौरं श्यामं च कृष्णं च वर्ण विकुरुते पुन:
bṛhat śarīraś ca punaś cīrāvāsaḥ punaḥ kṛśaḥ | gauraṃ śyāmaṃ ca kṛṣṇaṃ ca varṇaṃ vikurute punaḥ ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Có lúc y mang thân hình to lớn, cường tráng; có lúc lại gầy guộc, quấn trong những mảnh giẻ rách. Hết lần này đến lần khác, y đổi sắc da—khi trắng, khi sẫm, khi đen—cứ thế khoác lấy những hình tướng biến thiên.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the instability of outward form—body, clothing, and complexion can change repeatedly—encouraging discernment that ethical worth and dharma are not to be judged by external appearance.
Bhīṣma describes a figure whose appearance keeps shifting: sometimes strong and well-built, sometimes frail and rag-clad, and whose complexion alternates between fair, dark, and black—emphasizing a recurring transformation.