Śatarudrīya-prabhāva and Rudra’s Supremacy (शतरुद्रीयप्रभावः)
उलूकवदनैर्भीमैर्व॒कश्येनमुखैस्तथा । नानावर्णर्मुगमुखै: सर्वजातिसमन्वितै:
ulūkavadanair bhīmair vṛkaśyenamukhaiḥ tathā | nānāvair mṛgamukhaiḥ sarvajātisamanvitaiḥ ||
Nārada disse: “Alguns tinham rostos de coruja; outros, terríveis de aparência, traziam rostos de lobos e falcões. Outros ainda tinham rostos de cervos. Suas compleições eram de muitas cores, e pareciam encarnar toda sorte de espécies.”
नारद उवाच
The verse underscores the vast diversity and uncanny power of beings that appear in epic narratives, reminding the listener that the world contains many forms beyond ordinary human categories; such descriptions often function as moral-psychological signals—fear, awe, and vigilance—within a dharmic frame.
Nārada is describing a group of frightening, mixed-form beings: some owl-faced, some with wolf- or hawk-like faces, others deer-faced, with many colors and representing many kinds of species.