Shloka 5
Śatarudrīya-prabhāva and Rudra’s Supremacy (शतरुद्रीयप्रभावः)
सिंहव्याप्रगजप्रख्यै: सर्वजातिसमन्वितै: । क्रोष्टकद्वीपिवदनैरऋ्रक्षर्ष भमुखैस्तथा,कुछ भूतोंकी आकृति सिंहों, व्याप्रों एवं गजराजोंके समान थी। उनमें सभी जातियोंके प्राणी सम्मिलित थे। कितने ही भूतोंके मुख सियारों, चीतों, रीछों और बैलोंके समान थे
siṁhavyāghragajaprakhyaiḥ sarvajātisamanvitaiḥ | kroṣṭakadvīpivadanair ṛkṣarṣabhmukhaiḥ tathā ||
Nārada said: “Some of those beings had forms resembling lions, tigers, and lordly elephants. They appeared as a mingling of creatures of every kind. Many had faces like jackals and leopards, and likewise like bears and bulls.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the overwhelming, mixed, and fearsome nature of certain beings by comparing them to powerful animals, underscoring how appearances can signal danger, awe, or extraordinary power within the epic’s moral universe.
Nārada is describing the terrifying, composite appearances of various beings—some lion-, tiger-, and elephant-like, others with jackal-, leopard-, bear-, or bull-like faces—portraying a scene populated by many kinds of formidable forms.