Shloka 25
Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha
Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site
क्षुककर्णी चतुष्कर्णी कर्णप्रावरणा तथा । चतुष्यथनिकेता च गोकर्णी महिषानना
kṣukakarṇī catuṣkarṇī karṇaprāvaraṇā tathā | catuṣyathaniketā ca gokarṇī mahiṣānanā
वैशंपायन म्हणाले— क्षुककर्णी, चतुष्कर्णी आणि कर्णप्रावरणा; तसेच चतुष्यथनिकेता, गोकर्णी आणि महिषानना—अशा नावांच्या (सत्ता)ही होत्या.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how the epic uses lists of uncanny, liminal figures as moral atmosphere: when adharma dominates and catastrophe nears, the world is portrayed as disturbed, and ominous presences multiply—prompting reflection on ethical collapse and its cosmic/social repercussions.
Vaiśampāyana is enumerating named beings characterized by striking physical epithets (e.g., ‘four-eared’, ‘buffalo-faced’). This cataloging intensifies the sense of dread and abnormality around the late-war setting in Śalya Parva.