Shloka 3
शिखराणि व्यशीर्यन्त गिरीणां तत्र भारत | अपसव्यं मृगाश्चैव पाण्डुसेनां प्रचक्रिरे
śikharāṇi vyaśīryanta girīṇāṁ tatra bhārata | apasavyaṁ mṛgāś caiva pāṇḍusenāṁ pracakrire ||
Sañjaya sprach: „O Bhārata! Dort schien es, als bröckelten selbst die Gipfel der Berge und stürzten herab. Und die Tiere, die unheilvoll nach links zogen, begannen das Heer der Pāṇḍavas zu umkreisen — Vorzeichen, die einen düsteren Schatten auf die sich entfaltende Gewalt des Krieges warfen.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how adharma-driven violence is often framed in the epic through ominous portents: nature and animal behavior mirror moral disorder, warning that war’s momentum carries suffering and grave consequences.
Sañjaya reports fearful signs on the battlefield: mountain summits seem to break apart, and animals circle the Pāṇḍava forces moving ‘to the left’ (apasavya), a traditional indicator of inauspiciousness.