Shloka 6
Śatarudrīya-prabhāva and Rudra’s Supremacy (शतरुद्रीयप्रभावः)
उलूकवदनैर्भीमैर्व॒कश्येनमुखैस्तथा । नानावर्णर्मुगमुखै: सर्वजातिसमन्वितै:,कितने ही उल्लू-जैसे मुखवाले थे। बहुत-से भयंकर भूत भेड़ियों और बाजोंके समान मुख धारण करते थे। और कितनोंके मुख हरिणोंके समान थे। उन सबके वर्ण अनेक प्रकारके थे तथा वे सभी जातियोंसे सम्पन्न थे
ulūkavadanair bhīmair vṛkaśyenamukhaiḥ tathā | nānāvair mṛgamukhaiḥ sarvajātisamanvitaiḥ ||
Narada said: “Some had faces like owls; others, terrifying in appearance, bore faces like wolves and hawks. Still others had faces like deer. Their complexions were of many kinds, and they seemed to embody every sort of species.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the vast diversity and uncanny power of beings that appear in epic narratives, reminding the listener that the world contains many forms beyond ordinary human categories; such descriptions often function as moral-psychological signals—fear, awe, and vigilance—within a dharmic frame.
Nārada is describing a group of frightening, mixed-form beings: some owl-faced, some with wolf- or hawk-like faces, others deer-faced, with many colors and representing many kinds of species.