Shloka 106
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
श्वेताक्षा लोहितग्रीवा: पिड़ाक्षाश्ष॒ तथा परे । कल्माषा बहवो राजंश्षित्रवर्णाक्ष भारत
śvetākṣā lohitagrīvāḥ piḍākṣāś ca tathā pare | kalmāṣā bahavo rājan śitravarṇākṣa bhārata ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Les uns avaient les yeux blancs et le cou rouge ; d’autres avaient des yeux fauves, brun-jaune. Ô roi de la lignée des Bharata, nombre d’assistants étaient tachetés, d’apparence bigarrée, avec des yeux de couleurs diverses.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as descriptive narration rather than direct moral instruction; it heightens the atmosphere of disorder and foreboding by emphasizing unnatural or striking bodily features, a common epic technique to signal ominous conditions around a war setting.
Vaiśampāyana describes groups of people/attendants with unusual eye colors and mottled appearances, addressing the Bhārata king, as part of a broader depiction of strange sights that accompany the events of the Shalya Parva.