Shloka 2
द्विपा: प्रभिन्ना: शार्टूला: सिंहा: केसरिणस्तथा । मृगाश्न महिषाश्वैव शतश: पक्षिणस्तथा
dvipāḥ prabhinnāḥ śārṭūlāḥ siṁhāḥ kesariṇas tathā | mṛgāśna mahiṣāś caiva śataśaḥ pakṣiṇas tathā
Vaiśampāyana said: “There were rut-maddened elephants, tigers, and lions with flowing manes; and there were also buffaloes and other beasts of prey, along with hundreds of birds.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily builds atmosphere rather than stating a direct moral: it evokes the raw power and unpredictability of the wild, reminding the listener that human undertakings in the epic unfold amid forces larger than human control—an implicit call to humility and vigilance.
Vaiśampāyana describes a scene teeming with powerful animals—musth elephants, tigers, maned lions, other predators, buffaloes, and many birds—suggesting a dense, formidable wilderness and heightening the sense of danger and intensity around the events being narrated.