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

Saludo con reverencia a aquel de rostro deforme y terrible, provisto de colmillos; célebre por vencer a la espada; ávido de carne cocida y también cruda; y amante de la tumbī-vīṇā, el laúd de calabaza.

Word by Word

नमःsalutation

विकृत-वक्त्रायto the one with a deformed/terrible face

खड्ग-जिद्दायto the giver of the sword-conqueror (i.e., to the sword-bestowing one)

दंष्ट्रिणेto the tusked/fanged one

पक्व-आम-मांस-लुब्धायto the one greedy for cooked and raw flesh

तुम्बी-वीणा-प्रियायto the one fond of the gourd-lute (tumbī-vīṇā)

चand

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

khaḍga (sword)

tumbī-vīṇā (gourd-lute)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

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.