Mahabharata 9.45.84 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 45, Shloka 84

Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission

Devanagari script

किन्हींके मुख हाथीके समान थे, इसलिये वे बड़े भयानक जान पड़ते थे। कुछ पार्षदोंके मुख मगर, गरुड़, कंक भेड़ियों और कौओंके समान जान पड़ते थे ।।

Transliteration

go-kharōṣṭra-mukhāś ca vānyē vṛṣa-daṁśa-mukhās tathā | mahā-jaṭhara-pādāṅgās tārakākṣāś ca bhārata ||

Translation

ವೈಶಂಪಾಯನನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಓ ಭಾರತ! ಕೆಲ ಪರಿಷದರು ಹಸು, ಕತ್ತೆ ಮತ್ತು ಒಂಟೆಯಂತಹ ಮುಖಗಳನ್ನು ಧರಿಸಿದ್ದರು; ಕೆಲವರದು ನಾಯಿಯಂತಿತ್ತು; ಇನ್ನೂ ಕೆಲವರದು ವೃಷದಂಶ (ಎತ್ತನ್ನು ಕಚ್ಚುವ) ಮೃಗಗಳಂತಿತ್ತು. ಅನೇಕರಿಗೆ ಹೊಟ್ಟೆ, ಪಾದಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಇತರ ಅಂಗಗಳು ಮಹತ್ತಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಅವರ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ನಕ್ಷತ್ರಗಳಂತೆ ಮಿನುಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು.

Word by Word

• गोखरोष्टमुखाः: having faces like cow, donkey and camel
• गोखरोष्टमुखाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गो-खर-उष्ट्र-मुख
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun/Adjective
• Root: अन्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• वृषदंशमुखाः: having faces like (biting) bulls / bull-biting (i.e., fierce) faces
• वृषदंशमुखाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृषदंश-मुख
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तथा: likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• महाजठरपादाङ्गाः: having huge bellies, feet and limbs
• महाजठरपादाङ्गाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा-जठर-पाद-अङ्ग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तारकाक्षाः: star-eyed (with eyes like stars)
• तारकाक्षाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तारका-अक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भारत: O Bharata
• Type: Noun (proper)
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Bhārata (Janamejaya as addressee)
• attendants/retinue (pārṣadas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses grotesque, animal-faced imagery to signal an ominous moral climate: when violence and disorder dominate, the world is portrayed as haunted by fearful, unnatural forces—an ethical warning about the consequences of adharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a terrifying group of attendants with animal-like faces and exaggerated bodies, emphasizing the dread and portentous atmosphere surrounding the events in the war narrative.