Shloka 34
Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha
Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site
अरुणाभा महाभोगा दीर्घकेश्य: सिताम्बरा: । ऊर्ध्ववेणीधराश्नैव पिड्ाक्ष्यो लम्बमेखला:
aruṇābhā mahābhogā dīrghakeśyaḥ sitāmbarāḥ | ūrdhvaveṇīdharāś caiva piṅgākṣyo lambamekhalāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “They appeared with a reddish radiance, endowed with great splendor and prosperity—long-haired, clad in white garments, their braids bound high. Their tawny eyes and long girdles marked them as extraordinary beings, bearing an ominous, otherworldly presence.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions less as a direct moral injunction and more as a narrative device: in the context of war, extraordinary appearances and ominous signs underscore the ethical gravity of adharma-driven conflict and the sense that cosmic order reacts to human violence.
Vaiśampāyana describes a group of striking, otherworldly female figures by their color, dress, hair, eyes, and ornaments—details typically used in the epic to signal a portent or supernatural manifestation amid the events of the Shalya Parva.