Shloka 6
Adhyāya 6: Śibira-dvāra-sthita Bhūta-varṇana and Aśvatthāmā’s Śaraṇāgati to Mahādeva
दंष्टाकरालवदनं व्यादितास्यं भयानकम् | नयनानां सहसैश्न विचित्रैरभिभूषितम्
sañjaya uvāca |
daṃṣṭā-karāla-vadanaṃ vyāditāsyaṃ bhayānakam |
nayanānāṃ sahasraiś ca vicitrair abhibhūṣitam ||
দন্তে বিকট মুখ, বিস্তৃত গহ্বর—অতিভয়ংকর; আর সহস্র সহস্র বিচিত্র নয়নে বিভূষিত।—ইতি শ্রীমহাভারতে সৌপ্তিকপর্বণি দ্রৌণিচিন্তায়াং ষষ্ঠোऽধ্যায়ঃ।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the night’s events under an atmosphere of dread and moral inversion: the appearance of a fearsome, otherworldly figure functions as an omen that violence committed in darkness and rage draws forces of terror and retribution, warning that adharma breeds भय (fear) and spiritual peril.
Sañjaya describes what is seen at the threshold: a monstrous, fear-inducing being with a gaping, fang-filled mouth and thousands of strange eyes, standing as if to block entry—an ominous vision accompanying the Sauptika episode’s nocturnal violence.