Shloka 25
Aśvatthāmā’s Stuti of Rudra and Śiva’s Empowerment (सौप्तिकपर्व, अध्याय ७)
कितनोंके मुख, वर्ण और कान्ति शंखके सदृश थे। वे शंखकी मालाओंसे अलंकृत थे और उनके मुखसे शंखध्वनिके समान ही शब्द प्रकट होते थे ।।
jaṭādharāḥ pañcaśikhās tathā muṇḍāḥ kṛśodarāḥ | caturdaṃṣṭrāś caturjihvāḥ śaṅkukarṇāḥ kirīṭinaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Some had faces, complexion, and radiance like conches. They were adorned with conch-garlands, and from their mouths issued sounds like conch-blasts. Some of those attendants wore matted locks over the whole head; some bore five topknots, while others were shaven. Many were gaunt-bellied. Some had four fangs and four tongues. Some seemed to have ears like pegs, and some wore crowns upon their heads.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions less as a direct moral injunction and more as ethical atmosphere: after night-time slaughter, the narrative evokes terrifying, distorted forms to signal the moral pollution and dread that accompany adharma. The uncanny imagery reinforces that violence—especially deceitful or nocturnal killing—casts a shadow beyond the battlefield.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra a vision-like description of strange attendants/retainers with abnormal features—matted hair, multiple tongues and fangs, peg-like ears, and crowns—emphasizing the ominous, otherworldly scene surrounding the events of the Sauptika episode.