Shloka 6

Śatarudrīya-prabhāva and Rudra’s Supremacy (शतरुद्रीयप्रभावः)

Devanagari script

उलूकवदनैर्भीमैर्व॒कश्येनमुखैस्तथा । नानावर्णर्मुगमुखै: सर्वजातिसमन्वितै:,कितने ही उल्लू-जैसे मुखवाले थे। बहुत-से भयंकर भूत भेड़ियों और बाजोंके समान मुख धारण करते थे। और कितनोंके मुख हरिणोंके समान थे। उन सबके वर्ण अनेक प्रकारके थे तथा वे सभी जातियोंसे सम्पन्न थे

Transliteration

ulūkavadanair bhīmair vṛkaśyenamukhaiḥ tathā | nānāvair mṛgamukhaiḥ sarvajātisamanvitaiḥ ||

Translation

นารทกล่าวว่า—“บางตนมีใบหน้าดุจนกฮูก บางตนแลดูน่าสะพรึงกลัว มีใบหน้าดุจหมาป่าและเหยี่ยว อีกบางตนมีใบหน้าดุจกวาง ผิวพรรณของพวกเขาหลากหลาย และดูประหนึ่งรวมไว้ซึ่งสรรพเผ่าพันธุ์ทั้งปวง”

Word by Word

उलूकवदनैःwith owl-faces / having owl-like faces

भीमैःterrible, dreadful

वृकश्येनमुखैःwith faces like wolves and hawks

तथाand likewise

नानाvarious, many kinds of

वर्णैःwith colors/complexions

मृगमुखैःwith deer-faces / having faces like deer

सर्वजातिसमन्वितैःendowed with all kinds/species

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

owl (ulūka)

wolf (vṛka)

hawk/falcon (śyena)

deer (mṛga)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.