Shloka 3.23.5
महोत्पात-लक्षणानि (Omens before Khara’s Assault)
जनस्थानसमीपे तु समागम्य खरस्वनाः।विस्वरान्विविधांश्चक्रुर्मांसादा मृगपक्षिणः।।।।
vyājahruś ca pradīptāyāṃ diśi vai bhairava-svanam | aśivaṃ yātudhānānāṃ śivā ghorā mahāsvanāḥ ||
And the frightful jackals, with loud and dreadful howls, cried toward the blazing quarter—signaling inauspiciousness for the rākṣasas.
Flesh-eating beasts and birds flocked at Janasthana producing a cacophony.
Adharma carries consequences. The epic frames nature’s portents as moral feedback: cruelty and aggression invite downfall.
As the rākṣasa forces move toward confrontation, jackals howl toward a blazing direction, marking ill fortune for the demons.
Moral causality (karma-bodha): understanding that unrighteous intent tends toward self-destruction.