Shloka 28
उत्पातवर्णनम् (Utpāta-varṇanam) — Catalogue of Portents
चन्द्रादित्यावुभौ ग्रस्तावेकाद्नवा हि त्रयोदशीम् । अपर्वणि ग्रहं यातौ प्रजासंक्षयमिच्छत:,(इस पक्षमें तो तिथियोंका क्षय होनेके कारण) एक ही दिन त्रयोदशी तिथिको बिना पर्वके ही राहुने चन्द्रमा और सूर्य दोनोंको ग्रस लिया है। अतः ग्रहणावस्थाको प्राप्त हुए वे दोनों ग्रह प्रजाका संहार चाहते हैं
candrādityāv ubhau grastāv ekād navā hi trayodaśīm | aparvaṇi grahaṃ yātau prajāsaṃkṣayam icchataḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “On the thirteenth lunar day, with the calendrical order disturbed so that the tithis seem to have collapsed into a single day, Rāhu has seized both the Moon and the Sun without the proper festival juncture. Those two luminaries, fallen into eclipse, appear as though they desire the destruction of the people.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames cosmic irregularities—especially an eclipse occurring ‘out of season’—as moral and political warnings: when dharma is endangered and society is headed toward violence, nature itself seems to signal disorder, urging rulers and warriors to reflect on the consequences for the people.
Vyāsa reports a dire portent: Rāhu eclipses both Moon and Sun on Trayodaśī, and not at a proper parvan junction. This abnormal eclipse is interpreted as foretelling mass suffering and the impending destruction of populations in the coming conflict.