Shloka 20
उत्पातवर्णनम् (Utpāta-varṇanam) — Catalogue of Portents
प्रधाना: सर्वलोकस्य यास्वायत्तमिदं जगत् | ता गाव: प्रस्नुता वत्सै: शोणितं प्रक्षरन्त्युत,जो सम्पूर्ण जगत्में माताके समान प्रधान मानी जाती हैं, यह समस्त संसार जिनके अधीन है, वे गौएँ बछड़ोंसे पिन्हा जानेके बाद अपने थनोंसे खून बहाती हैं
pradhānāḥ sarvalokasya yāsv āyattam idaṃ jagat | tā gāvaḥ prasnutā vatsaiḥ śoṇitaṃ prakṣaranty uta ||
Those cows—regarded as foremost for all the worlds, upon whom this entire universe is said to depend—when pressed and drawn by their calves, are seen to let blood flow from their teats. The statement underscores a grave inversion of the natural moral order: even beings revered as universal mothers are driven into suffering, signaling the spread of adharma and the ominous conditions surrounding the war.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
When dharma declines, the natural and moral order is disturbed; even the most revered and nurturing beings (cows, treated as mothers) are afflicted. The verse uses a shocking image to warn that collective wrongdoing and impending violence manifest as suffering and ominous signs in the world.
Vyāsa is describing inauspicious portents connected with the approaching conflict. Among these signs, cows—normally symbols of nourishment and auspiciousness—are depicted as bleeding when their calves suckle, indicating a world out of balance on the eve of war.