Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 22

Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha

Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site

Devanagari script

शशोलूकमुखी कृष्णा खरजड्घा महाजवा । शिशुमारमुखी श्वेता लोहिताक्षी विभीषणा

Transliteration

śaśolūkamukhī kṛṣṇā kharajaḍghā mahājavā | śiśumāramukhī śvetā lohitākṣī vibhīṣaṇā ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana disse: “Uma era escura, com rosto de lebre ou de coruja, com mandíbulas ásperas, como as de um asno, e de velocidade tremenda. Outra era branca, com rosto de toninha, de olhos vermelhos, e aterradora.”

Word by Word

• शशोलूकमुखी: she whose face is like a hare/owl
• शशोलूकमुखी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शश + उलूक + मुख (मुखी)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• कृष्णा: black/dark
• कृष्णा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृष्ण
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• खरजड्घा: she who has donkey-like shanks/legs
• खरजड्घा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: खर + जङ्घा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• महाजवा: very swift; of great speed
• महाजवा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + जव
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• शिशुमारमुखी: she whose face is like a porpoise/dolphin (śiśumāra)
• शिशुमारमुखी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिशुमार + मुख (मुखी)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• श्वेता: white
• श्वेता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्वेत
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• लोहिताक्षी: red-eyed
• लोहिताक्षी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोहित + अक्षि (अक्षी)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• विभीषणा: terrifying, dreadful
• विभीषणा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विभीषण
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse primarily serves a narrative function: it uses vivid, unsettling zoological imagery to convey dread and the atmosphere of danger. Ethically, such descriptions underscore how war and impending calamity are accompanied by fear, distortion, and ominous signs, warning listeners about the destructive psychological landscape that surrounds violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing frightening female figures/creatures (or ominous apparitions) characterized by animal-like faces, unusual coloration, and terrifying features. The emphasis on speed, red eyes, and monstrous faces heightens the sense of foreboding within the Shalya Parva’s war-time setting.