Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 89
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
स्कन्धेमुखा महाराज तथाप्युदरतोमुखा: । पृष्ठेमुखा हनुमुखास्तथा जड्घामुखा अपि,महाराज! किन्हींके मुख कंधोंपर थे तो किन्हींके पेटमें। कोई पीठमें, कोई दाढ़ीमें और कोई जाँघोंमें ही मुख धारण करते थे
skandhemukhā mahārāja tathāpy udaratomukhāḥ | pṛṣṭhemukhā hanumukhās tathā jaṅghāmukhā api ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O King, some of those beings had faces upon their shoulders, and others had faces in their bellies. Some bore faces on their backs, some upon their jaws/chins, and some even upon their thighs.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a world turned upside down—grotesque, unnatural forms signaling moral and cosmic disorder. In the Mahābhārata’s war context, such imagery functions as a warning that when dharma collapses, reality itself appears distorted and terrifying.
Vaiśampāyana describes strange, frightening beings with faces located on different parts of their bodies (shoulders, belly, back, jaw, thighs). The description heightens the atmosphere of dread and serves as a portent-like depiction amid the catastrophic events of the Kurukṣetra war.