Shloka 5
Portents, Pursuit to the Nalinī, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Restraint Toward Bhīma
Saugandhika-padma Continuation
मत्तवारणयूथानि पड़कक्लिन्नानि भारत । वर्षतामिव मेघानां वृन्दानि ददृशे तदा,भारत! उस समय बहते हुए मदके पंकसे भीगे मतवाले गजराजोंके अनेकानेक यूथ वर्षा करनेवाले मेघोंके समूहके समान दिखलायी देते थे
matta-vāraṇa-yūthāni paṅkaklinnāni bhārata | varṣatām iva meghānāṁ vṛndāni dadṛśe tadā ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O Bhārata, at that time there appeared many herds of rut-maddened elephants, their bodies smeared and soaked with mud, looking like clustered masses of rain-bearing clouds.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily builds atmosphere rather than issuing a direct moral injunction: it uses a vivid simile to show how powerful natural forces (rut elephants and monsoon clouds) mirror each other, reminding the listener that in the forest setting human plans and emotions unfold amid overwhelming, indifferent nature.
The narrator describes the scene in the forest: many herds of musth elephants, drenched in mud, are visible and are compared to dense clusters of rain-laden clouds, intensifying the monsoon-like mood and the sense of untamed wilderness.