Shloka 135

Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout

Devanagari script

कराला: पिड़लाश्चैव शैलदन्ता रजस्वला: । जटिला दीर्घशड्खाश्न॒ पजचपादा महोदरा:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

karālāḥ piṅgalāś caiva śailadantā rajovalāḥ |

jaṭilā dīrghaśaṅkhāś ca pañcapādā mahodarāḥ ||

Translation

करालाः पिङ्गलाश्चैव शैलदन्ता रजस्वलाः । जटिला दीर्घशङ्खाश्च पञ्चपादाः महोदराः॥

Word by Word

• करालाः: terrible, frightful
• करालाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कराल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पिङ्गलाः: tawny, reddish-brown
• पिङ्गलाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पिङ्गल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

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

• एव: indeed, just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• शैलदन्ताः: having mountain-like teeth
• शैलदन्ताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शैलदन्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• रजस्वलाः: dust-covered
• रजस्वलाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रजस्वल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• जटिलाः: matted-haired, with matted locks
• जटिलाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जटिल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दीर्घशङ्खाश्च: having long temples/cheek-bones (lit. long 'śaṅkha')
• दीर्घशङ्खाश्च: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दीर्घशङ्ख
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पञ्चपादाः: five-footed
• पञ्चपादाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्चपाद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• महोदराः: big-bellied
• महोदराः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महोदर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how war and adharma generate an atmosphere of dread and moral darkness: the narrative frames the night of slaughter with grotesque, ominous imagery, warning that violence invites भय (fear) and अशुभ (inauspiciousness) rather than glory.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing terrifying, monstrous-looking figures—dust-smeared, matted-haired, with mountain-like teeth and unnatural bodies—evoking the ominous, nightmarish setting surrounding the events of the Sauptika episode.