Shloka 793
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
खरोष्टमवदनाश्षान्ये वराहवदनास्तथा । जनमेजय! उन सबके नाना प्रकारके मुख थे। किनके कैसे मुख थे? यह बताता हूँ
kharōṣṭamavadanāś cānye varāhavadanās tathā | janamejaya! teṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ nānāvidhāni mukhāni āsan | keṣāṃ kīdṛśāni mukhāni āsan iti te vakṣyāmi—śṛṇu | kecit pārṣadāḥ kūrma-kukkuṭa-sadṛśamukhāḥ, kecid śaśa-ulūka-gardabha-uṣṭra-varāha-sadṛśamukhāḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O Janamejaya, all of them bore faces of many different kinds. I shall tell you what sort of faces they had—listen. Some attendants had faces like tortoises and cocks; others had faces resembling a hare, an owl, a donkey, a camel, and a boar.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores how, amid the war narrative, the epic frames extraordinary and unsettling sights as meaningful signs—prompting attentiveness, restraint, and discernment (dharma) rather than mere fascination with the grotesque.
Vaiśaṃpāyana continues his description to King Janamejaya, listing the strange, animal-like faces of certain attendants/retainers, emphasizing the variety and ominous wonder of what was seen.