Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 563
Duryodhana-patana-anuśocana
The Fall of Duryodhana and the Contest of Restraint
नृत्यद्धिर्भयदैर्व्याप्ता दिशस्तत्रा भवन् नृप । नरेश्वर! वहाँ सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंमें नाचते हुए अनेक पैर और अनेक बाँहवाले घोर एवं भयंकर कबन्ध व्याप्त हो रहे थे
nṛtyaddhir bhayadair vyāptā diśas tatrābhavan nṛpa | nareśvara! vahāṃ sampūrṇa diśāsu nācatāṃ bahubhiḥ pādaiḥ bahubhir bāhubhiś ca ghorāḥ bhayaṅkarāḥ kabandhā vyāptā abhavan |
Vāyu said: “O king, in that place the quarters were filled with fearsome sights. O lord of men, in every direction dreadful, terrifying headless trunks—seeming to dance, with many feet and many arms—were spread everywhere.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral and psychological cost of war: when violence and adharma dominate, the world itself appears filled with terror and ominous signs, reflecting the collapse of order and the inevitability of death.
Vāyudeva describes a horrifying scene where all directions seem crowded with dreadful, dancing headless trunks (kabandhas) with many arms and feet—an ominous, supernatural battlefield vision meant to convey pervasive fear and impending destruction.
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