Shloka 45
द्यक्षीं त्र्यक्षीं ललाटाक्षीं दीर्घजिल्वामजिद्विकाम् । त्रिस्तनीमेकपादां च त्रिजटामेकलोचनाम्,उनमेंसे किसीके दो आँखें थीं, किसीके तीन। किसीके ललाटमें ही आँखें थीं, किसीके बहुत बड़ी जिह्ला थी, तो किसीके जीभ थी ही नहीं। किसीके तीन स्तन थे तो किसीका एक पैर। कोई अपने सिरपर तीन जटाएँ रखती थी तो किसीके एक ही आँख थी
dvyakṣīṃ tryakṣīṃ lalāṭākṣīṃ dīrghajihvām ajihvikām | tristanīm ekapādāṃ ca trijaṭām ekalocanām ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Among them, some had two eyes, some three; some bore an eye upon the forehead. Some had an exceedingly long tongue, while others were tongueless. Some had three breasts, some only a single foot; some wore three matted locks upon the head, and some had but one eye.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily serves a descriptive purpose: it evokes the uncanny diversity of non-human or otherworldly female forms, reminding the listener that the cosmos contains beings beyond ordinary human norms; ethically, it encourages humility and steadiness when confronted with the strange or fearsome.
Mārkaṇḍeya is describing a group of extraordinary beings, listing their striking physical features—multiple eyes, a forehead-eye, long or absent tongues, three breasts, one foot, triple matted locks, or a single eye—within his ongoing narration in Vana Parva.