Shloka 27
कार्त्तिकेयाभिषेकः — Consecration of Kārttikeya and the Enumeration of His Retinue
श्वाविच्छधल्यकगोधानामजैडकगवां तथा । सदृशानि वपुंष्यन्ते तत्र तत्र व्यधारयन्
śvāvichchadhalyakagodhānāmajaiḍakagavāṃ tathā | sadṛśāni vapuṃṣyante tatra tatra vyadhārayan ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Auf jenem Schlachtfeld stellten sie hier und dort Leiber auf, die so gestaltet waren, dass sie Stachelschweinen, Schakalen, Leguanen, Ziegen, Widdern und Kühen glichen — eine verstörende List, die zeigt, wie im Krieg Täuschung und das Spiel mit dem Schein genutzt werden, um zu verwirren und in die Irre zu führen.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare can involve deliberate deception—creating misleading appearances to confuse opponents—raising ethical tension between strategic necessity and dharmic restraint.
During the events of Śalya Parva, figures on the battlefield arrange forms/bodies made to look like various animals in different places, suggesting a tactic meant to misdirect, intimidate, or conceal real movements amid the chaos of war.