Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 92
Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission
किन्हींके अनेक और सर्पाकार मुख थे। किन्हीं-किन्हींके बहुत-सी भुजाएँ और गर्दनें थीं। किन्हींकी बहुसंख्यक भुजाएँ नाना प्रकारके वृक्षोंके समान जान पड़ती थीं। किन्हीं- किन्हींके मस्तक उनके कटि-प्रदेशमें ही दिखायी देते थे ।।
bhujadbhogavadanā nānāgulmanivāsinaḥ | cīrasaṃvṛtagātrāś ca nānākānakavāsasaḥ ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。「ある者は蛇のごとき顔を持ち、巨大な腕が身を巻きつくようにうねっていた。ある者はさまざまな灌木や蔓草の中に住むかのようで、草木に覆われ隠されているように見えた。ある者はぼろ布のみで身を包み、またある者は種々の黄金の輝きを放つ衣をまとっていた。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse heightens the ethical atmosphere of the war by depicting unsettling, quasi-monstrous forms—suggesting that adharma and mass violence distort the moral and even perceptual order of the world. It functions as a warning: when righteousness collapses, the environment of human life becomes uncanny and disordered.
Vaiśampāyana describes strange beings or apparitional figures with serpent-like faces, coiling arms, and bodies either overgrown with thickets and creepers or covered in rags or golden garments. The description contributes to the ominous, portent-filled setting surrounding the climactic events of the Shalya Parva.