Shloka 105
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
पिड़ाक्षा नीलकण्ठाश्न लम्बकर्णाक्ष भारत । वृकोदरनिभाश्चैव केचिदज्जनसंनिभा:
piḍākṣā nīlakaṇṭhāś ca lambakarṇākṣa bhārata | vṛkodaranibhāś caiva kecid añjanasannibhāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Bhārata, some had tawny-brown eyes; some bore a bluish mark upon the throat; some had long, pendulous ears. Some were of a hue like a wolf’s belly, while others were black like collyrium.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive: it underscores how, in the chaos of war, beings are portrayed through striking physical markers, reminding the listener that outward forms can signal fear, otherness, or ominous atmosphere, without themselves constituting dharma.
Vaiśampāyana is narrating to Janamejaya a scene in which various figures are described by distinctive bodily features—eye color, throat marks, ear length, and complexion—heightening the vividness and foreboding tone of the war narrative in Śalya Parva.