Shloka 18

Devanagari script

महाजगरवक्त्राश्व हंसवक्त्रा: सितप्रभा: । दार्वाघाटमुखाश्नलापि चाषवक्त्राश्न भारत,उनके रूप कुत्ते, सूअर और ऊँटोंके समान थे; मुँह घोड़ों, गीदड़ों और गाय-बैलोंके समान जान पड़ते थे। किन्हींके मुख रीछोंके समान थे तो किन्हींके बिलावोंके समान। कोई बाघोंके समान मुँहवाले थे तो कोई चीतोंके। कितने ही गणोंके मुख कौओं, वानरों, तोतों, बड़े-बड़े अजगरों और हंसोंके समान थे। भारत! कितनोंकी कान्ति भी हंसोंके समान सफेद थी, कितने ही गणोंके मुख कठफोरवा पक्षी और नीलकण्ठके समान थे

Transliteration

mahājagaravaktrāśva-haṃsavaktrāḥ sitaprabhāḥ | dārvāghāṭamukhāś caiva cāṣavaktrāś ca bhārata ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Bhārata, ada yang berwajah seperti ular sawa besar, seperti kuda, dan seperti angsa, bersinar dengan cahaya putih pucat. Yang lain bermulut seperti burung dārvāghāṭa, dan yang lain lagi seperti burung cāṣa.”

Word by Word

महाजगरवक्त्राश्वहंसवक्त्राःthose whose faces were like great pythons, horses, and swans

सितप्रभाःwhite-lustrous, of pale radiance

दार्वाघाटमुखाःthose having mouths like (the bird) dārvāghāṭa

उलूकापिand (some) owls (i.e., owl-faced ones implied)

चाषवक्त्राःthose having faces like chāṣa-birds

भारतO Bhārata

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Dhritarashtra (addressed as Bhārata)

gaṇāḥ (hosts of beings, implied)

mahājagara (great python)

aśva (horse)

haṃsa (swan)

dārvāghāṭa (bird, as a mouth/face comparison)

cāṣa (bird, as a mouth/face comparison)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contributes to the ethical framing of the Sauptika episode: when killing is done deceitfully at night against sleeping foes, the narrative surrounds it with ominous, dehumanizing imagery. The ‘monstrous’ forms mirror a moral distortion—violence unmoored from dharma appears as something uncanny and bestial.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya is reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the dreadful sights associated with the nocturnal slaughter in the Pandava camp. He describes hosts of beings with animal-like faces—pythons, horses, swans, and various birds—intensifying the atmosphere of terror and foreboding around the night-raid.