Shloka 16
Udyoga Parva 142: Vidura’s warning to Kuntī and Kuntī’s resolve to meet Karṇa
Gaṅgātīra encounter begins
प्रहृष्ट वाहनं कृष्ण पाण्डवानां प्रचक्षते | प्रदक्षिणा मृगाश्नैव तत् तेषां जयलक्षणम्,“श्रीकृष्ण! पाण्डवोंके वाहन प्रसन्न बताये जाते हैं और मृग उनके दाहिनेसे जाते देखे जाते हैं; यह लक्षण उनकी विजयका सूचक है
sañjaya uvāca | prahṛṣṭa-vāhanaṃ kṛṣṇa pāṇḍavānāṃ pracakṣate | pradakṣiṇā mṛgāś caiva tat teṣāṃ jaya-lakṣaṇam ||
Sañjaya said: “O Kṛṣṇa, the mounts and vehicles of the Pāṇḍavas are seen to be spirited and joyful; and the deer are observed passing on their right. Such omens are taken as signs foretelling their victory.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Auspicious signs may encourage and steady the mind, but in the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame they are meaningful chiefly when read alongside dharma: victory is implied to favor the side whose cause is just, not merely the side that receives omens.
Sañjaya reports to the listener that the Pāṇḍavas’ mounts appear joyful and that deer move on their right—traditional auspicious indicators—interpreting these as foretelling the Pāṇḍavas’ success as the conflict approaches.