Shloka 135

Devanagari script

कराला: पिड़लाश्चैव शैलदन्ता रजस्वला: । जटिला दीर्घशड्खाश्न॒ पजचपादा महोदरा:,वे बड़े ही विकराल और पिंगलवर्णके थे। उनके दाँत पहाड़ों-जैसे जान पड़ते थे। वे सारे अंगोंमें धूल लपेटे और सिरपर जटा रखाये हुए थे। उनके माथेकी हड्डी बहुत बड़ी थी। उनके पाँच-पाँच पैर और बड़े-बड़े पेट थे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

karālāḥ piṅgalāś caiva śailadantā rajovalāḥ |

jaṭilā dīrghaśaṅkhāś ca pañcapādā mahodarāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “They appeared exceedingly hideous and tawny in hue; their teeth looked like mountain-peaks. Smeared all over with dust and wearing matted locks, they bore long, prominent frontal bones; with five feet each and enormous bellies, they presented a terrifying, otherworldly sight.”

Word by Word

करालाःterrible, frightful

पिङ्गलाःtawny, reddish-brown

चand

एवindeed, just

शैलदन्ताःhaving mountain-like teeth

रजस्वलाःdust-covered

जटिलाःmatted-haired, with matted locks

दीर्घशङ्खाश्चhaving long temples/cheek-bones (lit. long 'śaṅkha')

पञ्चपादाःfive-footed

महोदराःbig-bellied

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how war and adharma generate an atmosphere of dread and moral darkness: the narrative frames the night of slaughter with grotesque, ominous imagery, warning that violence invites भय (fear) and अशुभ (inauspiciousness) rather than glory.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing terrifying, monstrous-looking figures—dust-smeared, matted-haired, with mountain-like teeth and unnatural bodies—evoking the ominous, nightmarish setting surrounding the events of the Sauptika episode.