Shloka 27
आचार्य-क्षमा, देśa–kāla-नīti, तथा भेद-दोषः
Teacher-Reconciliation, Timing-Policy, and the Fault of Factionalism
शकुनाश्चापसव्या नो वेदयन्ति महद् भयम्
śakunāś cāpasavyā no vedayanti mahad bhayam; ye pakṣiṇo 'smākaṁ vāmabhāge uḍḍīya mahad-bhaya-sūcanāṁ kurvanti, ayaṁ ca śṛgālaḥ kenāpy anāghātena asmākaṁ senā-madhyāt niṣkramya rudad iva palāyate—tad api mahad-bhaya-vijñāpanaṁ karoti.
Droṇa sprach: „Diese Vögel, die in unheilvoller Weise zu unserer Linken fliegen, künden von großer Gefahr. Und dieser Schakal—ohne dass ihn jemand getroffen hätte—ist aus der Mitte unseres Heeres herausgeschlüpft und flieht heulend davon; auch dies verkündet große Furcht. Solche Vorzeichen warnen, dass das Unheil nahe ist, und dass unser Tun und unser Entschluss im kommenden Kampf mit äußerster Ernsthaftigkeit abzuwägen sind.“
द्रोण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the epic’s motif that moral and strategic crises are often preceded by ‘nimitta’ (portents). Leaders must read the situation soberly: fear and disorder can spread even before weapons clash, and one should respond with vigilance, restraint, and dharmic reflection rather than arrogance.
Droṇa observes inauspicious signs around the Kaurava forces: birds moving on the left and a jackal crying as it runs out from the middle of the army without being harmed. He interprets these as warnings of impending danger for their side.