Shloka 453
कबन्ध॑ मेघसंकाशं भानुमावृत्य संस्थितम् | “कर्ण! वह देखो, रोंगटे खड़े कर देनेवाला भयदायक मेघसदृश महाघोर कबन्धाकार केतु नामक ग्रह सूर्यमण्डलको घेरकर खड़ा है
kabandhaṁ meghasaṅkāśaṁ bhānum āvṛtya saṁsthitam |
Sañjaya said: “A terrifying portent has appeared—like a headless trunk, dark as a storm-cloud—standing as though it has covered the Sun. Such a sign is meant to chill the heart, warning of impending calamity amid the war.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s moral atmosphere in which adharma-driven conflict is accompanied by ominous signs. Such portents function as ethical warnings: when violence and pride dominate, nature itself seems to mirror the disorder, urging reflection on dharma and consequences.
Sañjaya reports a fearful celestial omen: a kabandha-like, cloud-dark apparition appears as if covering the Sun. In the war narrative, this signals impending disaster and heightens the sense that the battlefield events are moving toward a grim, fated climax.