Śatarudrīya-prabhāva and Rudra’s Supremacy (शतरुद्रीयप्रभावः)
उलूकवदनैर्भीमैर्व॒कश्येनमुखैस्तथा । नानावर्णर्मुगमुखै: सर्वजातिसमन्वितै:
ulūkavadanair bhīmair vṛkaśyenamukhaiḥ tathā | nānāvair mṛgamukhaiḥ sarvajātisamanvitaiḥ ||
Nārada nói: “Có kẻ mang mặt như cú; kẻ khác, trông thật kinh khiếp, lại mang mặt như sói và chim ưng. Lại có kẻ mang mặt như nai. Da sắc của chúng muôn vẻ, và dường như hàm chứa mọi loài giống.”
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.