Shloka 39

Aśvatthāmā’s Stuti of Rudra and Śiva’s Empowerment (सौप्तिकपर्व, अध्याय ७)

Devanagari script

विकटा: काललम्बोष्ठा बृहच्छेफाण्डपिण्डिका: । महार्हनानामुकुटा मुण्डाश्व जटिला: परे,कितनोंके आकार बहुत विकट थे, कितनोंके काले-काले और लंबे ओठ लटक रहे थे, किन्हींके लिंग बड़े थे तो किन्हींके अण्डकोष। किन्हींके मस्तकोंपर नाना प्रकारके बहुमूल्य मुकुट शोभा पाते थे, कुछ लोग मथमुंडे थे और कुछ जटाधारी

Transliteration

vikaṭāḥ kālalambōṣṭhā bṛhacchephāṇḍapiṇḍikāḥ | mahārghanānāmukuṭā muṇḍāś ca jaṭilāḥ pare ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：“其中有的形貌怪诞至极——有的黑而长的嘴唇下垂；有的阳具硕大、睾丸肿胀。有的头戴各式珍贵华冠；有的剃发净光；又有的披结发髻，如苦行仙人之状。”

Word by Word

विकटाःterrible, grotesque

काललम्बोष्ठाःhaving black, hanging lips

बृहच्छेफाण्डपिण्डिकाःhaving large penis and testicles

महार्हनानामुकुटाःwearing various very precious crowns

मुण्डाःshaven-headed, bald

चand

जटिलाःmatted-haired

परेothers

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

various terrifying beings (unnamed)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how adharma-driven violence, especially in the night-raid context of the Sauptika Parva, is accompanied by fearsome, unsettling imagery—suggesting moral disorder and the psychological/spiritual darkness that surrounds cruelty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya is describing the frightening, varied appearances of beings seen in the aftermath/atmosphere of the nocturnal slaughter—some grotesque, some crowned, some shaven, some matted-haired—heightening the sense of ominous terror around the event.