Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 90
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
पार्शाननाश्व बहवो नानादेशमुखास्तथा । तथा कीटपतड्डानां सदृशास्या गणेश्वरा:
pārśānana-aśvā bahavo nānādeśa-mukhās tathā | tathā kīṭa-pataṅgānāṃ sadṛśāsyā gaṇeśvarāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Many were the horses with faces like those of wild beasts, and others whose mouths seemed to come from many different regions and kinds. Likewise, there were troop-lords whose faces resembled insects and flying creatures—an ominous, unnatural array that underscores the dread and moral disfigurement surrounding the war’s final violence.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses grotesque, unnatural imagery—beast-faced horses and insect-faced leaders—to signal moral and cosmic disorder. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such portents reflect the spread of adharma and the terrifying consequences of unchecked violence.
Vaiśampāyana describes a frightening, abnormal spectacle among the forces—horses and commanders appearing with uncanny, non-human faces. The description functions as an ominous sign within the war narrative, heightening dread and foreshadowing calamity.