Shloka 3.23.11
महोत्पात-लक्षणानि (Omens before Khara’s Assault)
कबन्धः परिघाभासो दृश्यते भास्करान्तिके।।।।जग्राह सूर्यं स्वर्भानुरपर्वणि महाग्रहः।प्रवाति मारुतश्शीघ्रं निष्प्रभोऽभूद्दिवाकरः।।।।
kabandhaḥ parighābhāso dṛśyate bhāskarāntike |
jagrāha sūryaṃ svarbhānur aparvaṇi mahāgrahaḥ |
pravāti mārutaḥ śīghraṃ niṣprabho ’bhūd divākaraḥ || 3.23.11 ||
Ketu, gleaming like an iron bar, was seen near the sun; though it was no appointed parvan, Svarbhānu (Rāhu), that mighty graha, seized the sun in eclipse. A swift wind blew, and the day-maker stood bereft of radiance.
The planet Ketu appeared like an iron beam near the Sun. Although it was not the fullmoon or newmoon day, Rahu eclipsed the Sun. Wind blew hard and the Sun was lustreless.
The epic links moral disorder with cosmic unease: when adharma rises, the world seems to mirror it through unsettling signs, urging a return to righteous conduct.
Celestial anomalies—Ketu’s appearance and an untimely eclipse—occur as forewarnings of the impending destruction of Khara’s unrighteous campaign.
Reverence for ṛta/dharma (cosmic and moral order): recognizing that actions against dharma invite ruin.