Shloka 10

शूरलक्षणवर्णनम् | Marks and Typologies of Martial Temperament

Devanagari script

बिडालकुब्जतनवस्तनुकेशास्तनुत्वच: । शीघ्राश्चपलवृत्ताश्व ते भवन्ति दुरासदा:

Transliteration

biḍālakubjatanavas tanukeśās tanutvacaḥ | śīghrāś capalavṛttāś ca te bhavanti durāsadāḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：凡身形如猫般弯曲，发细皮薄者，行事迅疾，性情多变，难以制服。

Word by Word

• बिडालकुब्जतनवः: having a cat-like hunchbacked body
• बिडालकुब्जतनवः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बिडालकुब्जतनु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तनुकेशाः: having thin/sparse hair
• तनुकेशाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तनुकेश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तनुत्वचः: having thin skin
• तनुत्वचः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तनुत्वच
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• शीघ्राः: swift
• शीघ्राः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शीघ्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• चपलवृत्ताश्च: and of fickle/restless conduct
• चपलवृत्ताश्च: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चपलवृत्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ते: they/those
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भवन्ति: become/are
• भवन्ति: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• दुरासदाः: hard to approach/assail; formidable
• दुरासदाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुरासद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse conveys that certain observable traits are traditionally taken as signs of a person’s temperament—especially swiftness, restlessness, and difficulty to restrain—serving as a caution in judging reliability and managing conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on governance and practical wisdom; here he describes a type of person whose nature is quick and unstable, emphasizing their formidable, hard-to-subdue quality.