Shloka 5

Śatarudrīya-prabhāva and Rudra’s Supremacy (शतरुद्रीयप्रभावः)

Devanagari script

सिंहव्याप्रगजप्रख्यै: सर्वजातिसमन्वितै: । क्रोष्टकद्वीपिवदनैरऋ्रक्षर्ष भमुखैस्तथा

Transliteration

siṁhavyāghragajaprakhyaiḥ sarvajātisamanvitaiḥ | kroṣṭakadvīpivadanair ṛkṣarṣabhmukhaiḥ tathā ||

Translation

Nārada dit : «Certains de ces êtres avaient des formes semblables à des lions, des tigres et de majestueux éléphants. Ils semblaient un mélange de créatures de toute espèce. Beaucoup avaient des visages de chacals et de léopards, et aussi d’ours et de taureaux.»

Word by Word

• सिंह: lion
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिंह
• Form: Masculine, Stem (compound member), —

• व्याघ्र: tiger
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्याघ्र
• Form: Masculine, Stem (compound member), —

• गज: elephant
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज
• Form: Masculine, Stem (compound member), —

• प्रख्यैः: resembling, like
• प्रख्यैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रख्य (प्रख्य)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• सर्व: all
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: —, Stem (compound member), —

• जाति: kind, species
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाति
• Form: Feminine, Stem (compound member), —

• समन्वितैः: endowed with, accompanied by, containing
• समन्वितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समन्वित (सम्+अन्वि+क्त)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• क्रोष्टक: jackal
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रोष्टक
• Form: Masculine, Stem (compound member), —

• द्वीपि: leopard
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वीपि
• Form: Masculine, Stem (compound member), —

• वदनैः: with faces/mouths
• वदनैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वदन
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• ऋक्ष: bear
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Stem (compound member), —

• ऋषभ: bull
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषभ
• Form: Masculine, Stem (compound member), —

• मुखैः: with mouths/faces
• मुखैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुख
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• तथा: and so; likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा
• Form: —, —, —

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• lion
• tiger
• elephant
• jackal
• leopard
• bear
• bull

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes the overwhelming, mixed, and fearsome nature of certain beings by comparing them to powerful animals, underscoring how appearances can signal danger, awe, or extraordinary power within the epic’s moral universe.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada is describing the terrifying, composite appearances of various beings—some lion-, tiger-, and elephant-like, others with jackal-, leopard-, bear-, or bull-like faces—portraying a scene populated by many kinds of formidable forms.