Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 86

Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission

Devanagari script

कृकलासमुखाश्वैव विरजो<म्बरधारिण: । व्यालवक्त्रा: शूलमुखाश्षण्डवक्त्रा: शुभानना:

Transliteration

kṛkalāsamukhāś caiva virajāmbaradhāriṇaḥ | vyālavaktrāḥ śūlamukhāḥ ṣaṇḍavaktrāḥ śubhānanāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Some had faces like lizards; some wore spotless white garments. Some bore serpent-like faces, others faces like spearheads. On some faces fierce wrath seemed to drip forth, while on others a gentle, auspicious calm prevailed.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'kṛkalāsa', 'definition': 'lizard (often understood as a gecko/chameleon-like reptile)'}, {'term': 'mukha', 'definition': 'face

• countenance'}, {'term': 'viraja', 'definition': 'spotless

• free from dust/impurity'}, {'term': 'ambara', 'definition': 'garment

• cloth'}, {'term': 'dhāriṇ', 'definition': 'wearing

• one who holds'}, {'term': 'vyāla', 'definition': 'serpent

• dangerous beast'}, {'term': 'vaktra', 'definition': 'face

• mouth (synonym of mukha)'}, {'term': 'śūla', 'definition': 'spear

• sharp stake'}, {'term': 'śubha', 'definition': 'auspicious

• благоприятный'}, {'term': 'ānana', 'definition': 'face

• mouth'}, {'term': 'caiva', 'definition': 'and indeed

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how, in times of adharma and catastrophic war, the world appears morally and psychologically distorted: beings and signs seem uncanny, reflecting inner states like rage and calm. It cautions that ethical collapse is mirrored by unsettling portents and a breakdown of ordinary order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a frightening, otherworldly scene in which various beings (or apparitions) appear with grotesque and weapon-like faces, some clothed in spotless white, some radiating fury, others seeming gentle—an ominous tableau accompanying the climactic violence of the war.