Shloka 5

द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय ९०: हार्दिक्यस्य पराक्रमः

Kṛtavarmā’s Stand against the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

मृगाश्न घोरसंनादा: शिवाश्लाशिवदर्शना: । दक्षिणेन प्रयातानामस्माकं प्राणदंस्तथा,और जब हमलोग आगे बढ़ने लगे, तब भयंकर शब्द करनेवाले पशु और अशुभ दर्शनवाले सियार हमारे दाहिने आकर कोलाहल करने लगे

Transliteration

mṛgāś ca ghorasaṃnādāḥ śivāś cāśivadārśanāḥ | dakṣiṇena prayātānām asmākaṃ prāṇadaṃs tathā ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: As our forces began to advance, beasts raised dreadful cries, and jackals—portending ill—appeared on our right and howled, as if to bite at our very life-breath. The omen signaled a moral and strategic forewarning: when violence is about to intensify, nature itself seems to protest, hinting at the ruin that adharma-driven war brings upon those who pursue it.

Word by Word

• मृगाश्नाः: beast-eaters (carnivorous animals)
• मृगाश्नाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृगाश्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• घोर-संनादाः: having dreadful cries/sounds
• घोर-संनादाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोरसंनाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• शिवाः: jackals
• शिवाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• अशिव-दर्शनाः: of inauspicious appearance/portent
• अशिव-दर्शनाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशिवदर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• दक्षिणेन: on the right side / to the right
• दक्षिणेन: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• प्रयातानाम्: of (us) who were proceeding/setting forth
• प्रयातानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-या (धातु) + क्त (प्रयात) → प्रयात (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• अस्माकम्: of us / our
• अस्माकम्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: —, Genitive, Plural

• प्राण-दान्: life-taking / life-threatening (omens)
• प्राण-दान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राणद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• तथा: thus / likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• mṛga (wild beasts)
• śivā (jackals)
• Kaurava army (implied by asmākam)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the epic motif that moral disorder (adharma) in war is mirrored by ominous signs in nature. Such portents function as ethical warnings: when one advances toward destructive action, consequences—fear, loss, and ruin—are already intimated.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that as their side moved forward, terrifying cries of beasts and the howling of jackals appeared on the right, an inauspicious omen suggesting danger and impending calamity for the advancing troops.