Shloka 6.51.30
धूम्राक्षप्रेषणम् (The Dispatch of Dhūmrākṣa)
रथप्रवरमास्थायखरयुक्तंखरस्वनम् ।प्रयान्तंतुमहाघोरंराक्षसंभीमदर्शनम् ।।6.51.30।।अन्तरिक्षगताःघोराशकुनाःप्रत्यषेधयन् ।
rathapravaram āsthāya kharayuktaṃ kharasvanam |
prayāntaṃ tu mahāghoraṃ rākṣasaṃ bhīmadarśanam || 6.51.30 ||
antariṣagatāḥ ghorāḥ śakunāḥ pratyaṣedhayan |
Mounting an excellent chariot yoked to donkeys and resounding with their braying, that exceedingly dreadful rākṣasa of fearsome appearance set forth. Then fierce birds flying in the sky obstructed him—an ominous check upon his advance.
While the Rakshasa was mounted on the chariot and going braying like a donkey, a fearful bird going in the sky stood before his chariot.
The ominous birds obstructing the rākṣasa signal that adharma-driven aggression meets resistance from the moral order of the world; the epic often frames such portents as nature itself aligning with Dharma.
In the Ramayana, śakunas function as truthful indicators (satya-lakṣaṇa) of impending outcomes: when one acts against Dharma, adverse signs arise, warning that the path is misaligned with righteousness.