Shloka 9
आयोधनदर्शनम्
Viewing the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra
वह स्थान नरभक्षी राक्षसरोंको आनन्द दे रहा था। वहाँ सब ओर कुरर पक्षी छा रहे थे। अमंगलमयी गीदड़ियाँ अपनी बोली बोल रही थीं, गीध सब ओर बैठे हुए थे ।। ततो व्यासाभ्यनुज्ञातो धृतराष्ट्रो महीपति: । पाण्डुपुत्राश्न ते सर्वे युधिष्ठिरपुरोगमा:,उस समय भगवान् व्यासकी आज्ञा पाकर राजा धुृतराष्ट्र तथा युधिष्ठिर आदि समस्त पाण्डव रणभूमिकी ओर चले
tad deśaḥ narabhakṣī-rākṣasagaṇān ānandayām āsa | tatra sarvataḥ kurara-pakṣiṇaḥ samācchādayan | amaṅgalamayyāḥ śṛgālyo bhāṣante sma, gṛdhrāś ca sarvata upaviṣṭāḥ || tato vyāsābhyanujñāto dhṛtarāṣṭro mahīpatiḥ | pāṇḍuputrāś ca te sarve yudhiṣṭhira-purogamāḥ raṇabhūmiṃ prati jagmuḥ ||
That place delighted the man-eating hosts of rākṣasas. Everywhere it was overcast with kurara-birds; ill-omened jackals cried out their calls, and vultures sat all around. Then, with Vyāsa’s permission, King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and all the sons of Pāṇḍu led by Yudhiṣṭhira, set out toward the battlefield—moving into a landscape that itself proclaimed the moral ruin and aftermath of war.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the battlefield as a moral and ecological consequence of adharma: scavengers and ominous cries dominate, suggesting that violence degrades the world itself. Even rightful victory is shown as ethically costly, demanding sober reflection rather than triumph.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes the battlefield’s dreadful omens—rākṣasas rejoicing, birds and scavengers gathering—then states that Dhṛtarāṣṭra, with Vyāsa’s permission, and the Pāṇḍavas led by Yudhiṣṭhira proceed toward the battlefield.