Shloka 36
Aśvatthāmā’s Stuti of Rudra and Śiva’s Empowerment (सौप्तिकपर्व, अध्याय ७)
नानाविरागवसनाश्षित्रमाल्यानुलेपना: । रत्नचित्राड्भदधरा: समुद्यतकरास्तथा,उनके वस्त्र नाना प्रकारके रंगोंमें रँगे हुए थे। वे विचित्र माला और चन्दनसे अलंकृत थे। उन्होंने रत्ननिर्मित विचित्र अंगद धारण कर रखे थे और उन सबके हाथ ऊपरकी ओर उठे हुए थे
nānāvirāga-vasanāś citra-mālyānulepanāḥ | ratna-citrāṅgada-dharāḥ samudyata-karās tathā ||
Sañjaya said: They wore garments dyed in many hues. Adorned with variegated garlands and sandal-paste unguents, they bore brilliant armlets inlaid with gems; and all of them held their hands raised aloft—an ominous, otherworldly spectacle amid the aftermath of slaughter, suggesting beings not bound by ordinary human conduct and the moral order shattered by nocturnal violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how, in the wake of adharma-driven violence, the world appears morally and cosmically unsettled: richly adorned yet uncanny figures with raised hands evoke ominous forces, reminding the listener that unethical acts in war invite fearful, destabilizing consequences beyond the battlefield.
Sañjaya describes a group of striking, ornamented figures—wearing multi-colored garments, garlands, sandal paste, and gemmed armlets—whose hands are lifted upward. The description functions as a portent-like tableau within the grim Sauptika context, heightening the sense of dread and otherworldliness surrounding the night massacre.