Shloka 106
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
श्वेताक्षा लोहितग्रीवा: पिड़ाक्षाश्ष॒ तथा परे । कल्माषा बहवो राजंश्षित्रवर्णाक्ष भारत,किन्हींकी आँखें सफेद और गर्दन लाल थीं। कुछ लोगोंके नेत्र पिंगलवर्णके थे। भरतवंशी नरेश! बहुत-से पार्षद विचित्र वर्णवाले और चितकबरे थे
śvetākṣā lohitagrīvāḥ piḍākṣāś ca tathā pare | kalmāṣā bahavo rājan śitravarṇākṣa bhārata ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Einige hatten weiße Augen und rote Hälse; andere hatten gelblich-braune, fahlbraune Augen. O König aus Bharatas Geschlecht, viele der Gefolgsleute waren gesprenkelt und von bunt wechselnder Gestalt, mit Augen in mannigfachen Farben.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as descriptive narration rather than direct moral instruction; it heightens the atmosphere of disorder and foreboding by emphasizing unnatural or striking bodily features, a common epic technique to signal ominous conditions around a war setting.
Vaiśampāyana describes groups of people/attendants with unusual eye colors and mottled appearances, addressing the Bhārata king, as part of a broader depiction of strange sights that accompany the events of the Shalya Parva.