Shloka 43
उत्पातवर्णनम् (Utpāta-varṇanam) — Catalogue of Portents
शिखराणां समृद्धानामुपरिष्टात् समन्तत: । वायसाश्व रुवन्त्युग्रं वामं मण्डलमाश्रिता:,फल-फूलसे सम्पन्न वृक्षोंकी शिखाओंपर बायीं ओरसे घूम-घूमकर सब ओर कौए बैठते हैं और भयंकर काँव-काँवका कोलाहल करते हैं
śikharāṇāṃ samṛddhānām upariṣṭāt samantataḥ | vāyasāś ca ruvanty ugraṃ vāmaṃ maṇḍalam āśritāḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “Upon the lofty, flourishing treetops, all around, crows have gathered and, keeping to the leftward circuit, cry out harshly with a dreadful clamor.” In the war-context, this is presented as an ominous sign—nature itself seeming to warn of impending destruction and the moral gravity of the conflict.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that adharma and mass violence are not merely human affairs; they reverberate through the world as ominous portents. It invites ethical reflection: when a conflict is morally catastrophic, even ordinary signs in nature are read as warnings to restrain destructive impulses and reconsider one’s course.
Vyāsa reports a battlefield-omen: crows gather on the tops of flourishing trees and circle to the left while cawing harshly. Such behavior is traditionally interpreted as inauspicious, foreshadowing calamity and death as the great war approaches.