Shloka 12
Udyoga Parva 142: Vidura’s warning to Kuntī and Kuntī’s resolve to meet Karṇa
Gaṅgātīra encounter begins
निष्टनन्ति च मातड्ा मुज्चन्त्यश्रूणि वाजिन: । पानीयं यवसं चापि नाभिनन्दन्ति माधव,“माधव! गजराज परस्पर टकराते और विकृत शब्द करते हैं। घोड़े नेत्रोंसे आँसू बहा रहे हैं। वे घास और पानी भी प्रसन्नतापूर्वक नहीं ग्रहण करते हैं
niṣṭananti ca mātaṅgā muñcanty aśrūṇi vājinaḥ | pānīyaṃ yavasaṃ cāpi nābhinandanti mādhava ||
Sañjaya said: “O Mādhava, the lordly elephants are trumpeting and clashing against one another with harsh, distorted cries. The horses are shedding tears from their eyes, and they do not even take water or fodder with any gladness.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ominous signs in nature and animals as a moral warning: when adharma and impending violence dominate, even creatures become distressed, suggesting that righteous counsel and restraint should be heeded before irreversible harm occurs.
Sañjaya reports to Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa) that war-animals are behaving unnaturally—elephants are agitated and clashing, horses are tearful and refuse food and water—presenting these as portents of the grave calamity about to unfold.