Shloka 92

Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment

Parāśara’s Instruction

Devanagari script

नमो विकृतवक्त्राय खड्गजिद्दाय दं्टिणे । पक्‍्वाममांसलुब्धाय तुम्बीवीणाप्रियाय च

Transliteration

namo vikṛtavaktrāya khaḍgajiddāya daṃṭiṇe | pakvāmamāṃsalubdhāya tumbīvīṇāpriyāya ca

Translation

Salutations to the fierce one with a grotesque face and tusks; famed as a conqueror of the sword; craving cooked flesh and raw flesh alike; and fond of the tumbī-vīṇā, the gourd-lute.

Word by Word

• नमः: salutation
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस्
• Form: indeclinable (used with dative)

• विकृत-वक्त्राय: to the one with a deformed/terrible face
• विकृत-वक्त्राय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विकृतवक्त्र
• Form: masculine, dative, singular

• खड्ग-जिद्दाय: to the giver of the sword-conqueror (i.e., to the sword-bestowing one)
• खड्ग-जिद्दाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: खड्गजिद्द
• Form: masculine, dative, singular

• दंष्ट्रिणे: to the tusked/fanged one
• दंष्ट्रिणे: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दंष्ट्रिन्
• Form: masculine, dative, singular

• पक्व-आम-मांस-लुब्धाय: to the one greedy for cooked and raw flesh
• पक्व-आम-मांस-लुब्धाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पक्वाममांसलुब्ध
• Form: masculine, dative, singular

• तुम्बी-वीणा-प्रियाय: to the one fond of the gourd-lute (tumbī-vīṇā)
• तुम्बी-वीणा-प्रियाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुम्बीवीणाप्रिय
• Form: masculine, dative, singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: indeclinable

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• khaḍga (sword)
• tumbī-vīṇā (gourd-lute)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse models a dharmic attitude of acknowledging and ritually addressing even terrifying, liminal powers. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical world, order is maintained not only by ideals but also by recognizing and properly relating to forces that can disrupt or protect.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is reciting a formula of salutation that lists identifying epithets of a fierce being—grotesque-faced, tusked, associated with victory over the sword, meat-craving, and fond of the tumbī-vīṇā—typical of invocatory passages that seek protection, favor, or the correct ritual orientation within a larger discourse in Śānti Parva.