Shloka 143
Saṃsāra-Gahana Allegory: The Brāhmaṇa in the Forest and Well (संसारगहन-आख्यान)
षड्वकत्रं कृष्णशुक्लं च द्विषट्कपदचारिणम् | वहाँ भी उसके सामने पुनः दूसरा उपद्रव खड़ा हो गया। उसने कूपके भीतर एक महाबली महानाग बैठा हुआ देखा तथा कुएँके ऊपरी तटपर उसके मुखबन्धके पास एक विशाल हाथीको खड़ा देखा, जिनके छ: मुँह थे। वह सफेद और काले रंगका था तथा बारह पैरोंसे चला करता था
ṣaḍvaktraṁ kṛṣṇaśuklaṁ ca dviṣaṭkapadacāriṇam |
Vidura describes a further ominous apparition: a being with six faces, marked by black and white, moving on twelve feet—an image of mixed, unstable forces that signals renewed danger and moral confusion in the unfolding calamity.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a striking mixed-color, many-limbed image to suggest moral instability and compounded peril: when dharma is obscured by conflicting impulses (black/white together), troubles multiply and appear in new forms.
Vidura continues a description of a disturbing vision/scene, pointing out a new threatening presence characterized as six-faced and black-and-white, moving with twelve feet—an ominous sign within the broader post-war atmosphere of grief and disorder.