Shloka 71
उत्पातवर्णनम् (Utpāta-varṇanam) — Catalogue of Portents
इष्टा वाच: प्रविष्टस्य दक्षिणा: प्रविविक्षत: । पश्चात् संधारयन्त्यर्थमग्रे च प्रतिषेधिका:,जिस पक्षके योद्धा शत्रुकी सेनामें प्रवेश करनेकी इच्छा करते समय अथवा उसमें प्रवेश कर लेनेपर अभीष्ट वचन (मैं तुझे अभी मार भगाता हूँ इत्यादि शौर्यसूचक बातें) बोलते हैं और अपने रणकौशलका परिचय देते हैं, वे पीछे प्राप्त होनेवाली अपनी विजयको पहलेसे ही निश्चित कर लेते हैं। इसके विपरीत जिन्हें शत्रुसेनामें प्रवेश करते समय सामनेसे निषेधसूचक वचन सुननेको मिलते हैं, उनकी पराजय होती है
iṣṭā vācaḥ praviṣṭasya dakṣiṇāḥ pravivikṣataḥ | paścāt saṃdhārayanty artham agre ca pratiṣedhikāḥ ||
Vyāsa said: When warriors are about to enter the enemy host—or have already entered it—if they utter confident, welcome words of valor and display their skill in battle, they thereby secure in advance what will come later: their victory. But when, at the very front, they meet with forbidding, discouraging words as they attempt to enter the enemy ranks, that becomes a sign of their defeat.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Speech and signs at the outset of action matter: confident, auspicious words and demonstrated competence strengthen resolve and foreshadow success, while prohibitive, discouraging words encountered at the front are treated as inauspicious indicators of failure.
Vyāsa offers a general observation about battlefield psychology and omens: as fighters press into the enemy formation, the kind of words heard and spoken—encouraging or restraining—functions as a sign predicting victory or defeat.