Shloka 103
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
नानाचर्मभिराच्छन्ना नानाभाषाश्न भारत | कुशला देशभाषासु जल्पन्तो<न्योन्यमी श्व॒रा:
nānācarmabhirācchannā nānābhāṣāś ca bhārata | kuśalā deśabhāṣāsu jalpanto 'nyonyam īśvarāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô Bhārata, il y avait des hommes couverts de vêtements de cuir de toutes sortes, parlant de multiples langues. Habiles dans les idiomes des contrées, ils conversaient entre eux avec assurance.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the vast diversity gathered around the Kurukṣetra war—peoples from many regions with different languages and customs—suggesting the epic’s vision of a wide human world drawn into the conflict, where competence and coordination matter amid chaos.
Vaiśampāyana is describing groups present in the war setting: men clad in various leather coverings, speaking different regional languages, and conversing among themselves—part of a broader catalog-like depiction of the assembled forces and their variety.