Shloka 793
खरोष्टमवदनाश्षान्ये वराहवदनास्तथा । जनमेजय! उन सबके नाना प्रकारके मुख थे। किनके कैसे मुख थे? यह बताता हूँ, सुनो। कुछ पार्षदोंके मुख कछुओं और मुर्गोके समान थे, कितनोंके मुख खरगोश, उल्लू, गदहा, ऊँट और सूअरके समान थे
kharōṣṭamavadanāś cānye varāhavadanās tathā | janamejaya! teṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ nānāvidhāni mukhāni āsan | keṣāṃ kīdṛśāni mukhāni āsan iti te vakṣyāmi—śṛṇu | kecit pārṣadāḥ kūrma-kukkuṭa-sadṛśamukhāḥ, kecid śaśa-ulūka-gardabha-uṣṭra-varāha-sadṛśamukhāḥ ||
वैशम्पायन उवाच—जनमेजय, तेषां सर्वेषां नानाविधानि मुखानि आसन्। येषां यानि मुखानि आसन् तदहं ते वक्ष्यामि, शृणु। केषाञ्चित् पार्षदानां मुखानि कूर्मकुक्कुटसदृशानि आसन्; अन्येषां शशोलूकगर्दभोष्ट्रवराहसदृशानि मुखानि आसन्।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores how, amid the war narrative, the epic frames extraordinary and unsettling sights as meaningful signs—prompting attentiveness, restraint, and discernment (dharma) rather than mere fascination with the grotesque.
Vaiśaṃpāyana continues his description to King Janamejaya, listing the strange, animal-like faces of certain attendants/retainers, emphasizing the variety and ominous wonder of what was seen.