Shloka 12
अध्याय २७०: प्रहस्त-वधः, धूम्राक्ष-हननं, कुम्भकर्ण-प्रबोधनम्
Chapter 270: Slaying of Prahasta; Defeat of Dhūmrākṣa; Awakening of Kumbhakarṇa
अचिन्त्यरूपा सुविशालनेत्रा शरीरतुल्या कुरुपुड्गवानाम् । यद्येव देवी पृथिवीं प्रविष्टा दिवं प्रपन्नाप्यथवा समुद्रम्
acintyarūpā suviśālanetrā śarīratulyā kurupuḍgavānām | yadyeva devī pṛthivīṃ praviṣṭā divaṃ prapannāpy athavā samudram ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Her form was beyond imagining, her eyes exceedingly wide; in stature she was comparable to the foremost among the Kurus. Whether the goddess had entered the earth, or ascended to heaven, or even gone into the ocean—(she could not be found).”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the epic motif of the divine as elusive and beyond ordinary grasp: even when described in human-comparable terms, a goddess may vanish into cosmic realms (earth, heaven, ocean), reminding listeners that human perception and pursuit have limits before the transcendent.
Vaiśampāyana describes a wondrous goddess—large-eyed and of a stature comparable to the foremost Kuru heroes—and then conveys uncertainty about her whereabouts, suggesting she may have disappeared into the earth, ascended to heaven, or entered the ocean.