Shloka 17
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय २: संजयस्य दिव्यदृष्टिप्रदानम् तथा निमित्तवर्णनम्
Granting Sañjaya Divine Sight and the Description of Omens
श्येना गृथ्राश्न काकाश्न कड़काश्न सहिता बकै: । सम्पतन्ति नगाग्रेषु समवायां श्व॒ कुर्वते,“बाज, गीध, कौवे, कंक और बबगुले वृक्षोंके अग्रभागपर आकर बैठते तथा अपना समूह एकत्र करते हैं
śyenā gṛdhrāś ca kākāś ca kaṅkāś ca sahitā bakaiḥ | sampatanti nagāgreṣu samavāyāṃś ca kurvate ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Hawks, vultures, crows, kites, and herons gather together and swoop down to the treetops, perching on the highest branches and forming a flock.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how impending adharma and mass violence are mirrored by ominous signs in nature. The gathering of predatory and carrion birds suggests the moral weight of war: when destruction is near, the world seems to signal the consequences, urging reflection on responsibility and restraint.
As the Kurukṣetra war approaches, the narrator describes inauspicious portents. Here, various birds—raptors and scavengers—descend upon treetops and assemble, a traditional sign that battle and death are imminent.