Shloka 2

Post–Baka-vadha Residence and the Introduction of Yājñasenī’s Svayaṃvara (आदि पर्व, अध्याय १५३)

Devanagari script

लोहिताक्षो महाबाहुरूर्ध्वकेशो महानन: । मेघसंघातवर्ष्मा च तीक्ष्णदंष्टो भयानक:,उसकी आँखें क्रोधसे लाल हो रही थीं, भुजाएँ बड़ी-बड़ी थीं, केश ऊपरको उठे हुए थे और विशाल मुख था। उसके शरीरका रंग ऐसा काला था, मानो मेघोंकी काली घटा छा रही हो। तीखे दाढ़ोंवाला वह राक्षस बड़ा भयंकर जान पड़ता था

Transliteration

lohītākṣo mahābāhur ūrdhvakeśo mahānanaḥ | meghasaṅghātavarṣmā ca tīkṣṇadaṃṣṭro bhayānakaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: His eyes were reddened with fury; he was mighty-armed, with hair bristling upward and a vast, gaping face. His body was dark like a mass of rain-clouds, and with sharp fangs he appeared terrifying—an embodiment of violent, unruly force that threatens the moral order.

Word by Word

लोहिताक्षःred-eyed

महाबाहुःmighty-armed, having great arms

ऊर्ध्वकेशःwith hair standing upright

महाननःlarge-faced, having a huge mouth/face

मेघसंघातवर्ष्माwhose body is like a mass of clouds

चand

तीक्ष्णदंष्ट्रःsharp-fanged

भयानकःterrifying

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

a rākṣasa (demon/ogre figure; unnamed in this verse)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses vivid rākṣasa imagery—red eyes, bristling hair, cloud-dark body, sharp fangs—to signal adharma as a palpable threat. Ethically, it frames uncontrolled rage and predatory violence as forces that disturb social and moral order, setting the stage for why restraint and righteous protection become necessary.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing a fearsome rākṣasa’s appearance in heightened poetic detail. The focus is not on action yet but on establishing the creature’s terrifying presence and the danger it represents to those in the scene.