Shloka 16
Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira
Book 9, Chapter 11
मृगाश्न महिषाश्चापि पक्षिणश्न विशाम्पते । अपसव्य॑ं तदा चक्रुः सेनां ते बहुशो नूप,प्रजानाथ! नरेश्वर! उस समय मृग, महिष और पक्षी आपकी सेनाको बारंबार दाहिने करके जाने लगे
Sañjaya uvāca: mṛgāś ca mahiṣāś cāpi pakṣiṇaś ca viśāmpate | apasavyaṃ tadā cakruḥ senāṃ te bahuśo nṛpa prajānātha nareśvara ||
Sañjaya said: “O lord of the people, O king, at that time deer, buffaloes, and birds repeatedly moved around your army keeping it to their right (circling in an inauspicious direction).”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the language of omens to underline ethical causality in epic narrative: when a ruler’s cause is burdened by adharma, nature itself appears to signal danger. It implicitly urges kings to examine their conduct and the justice of their war, not merely their strategy.
Sañjaya reports to the king that animals—deer, buffaloes, and birds—kept moving around the king’s army in an apasavya manner, a traditional sign of inauspiciousness. This functions as a portent foreshadowing misfortune for that side in the unfolding battle.