Shloka 10
Jaitrya-nimitta: Signs of Prospective Victory and the Priority of Conciliation (जयलक्षण-निमित्त तथा सान्त्व-प्रधान नीति)
इष्टा मृगा: पृष्ठतो वामतश्न सम्प्रस्थितानां च गमिष्यतां च । जिघांसतां दक्षिणा: सिद्धिमाहु- यें त्वग्रतस्ते प्रतिषेधयन्ति
iṣṭā mṛgāḥ pṛṣṭhato vāma-taś ca samprasthitānāṃ ca gamiṣyatāṃ ca | jighāṃsatāṃ dakṣiṇāḥ siddhim āhur ye tv agratas te pratiṣedhayanti ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: «Cuando un ejército está por partir o se prepara para partir, si animales auspiciosos aparecen por detrás o a la izquierda, se considera que otorgan el fruto deseado. En medio de la batalla, si se los ve a la derecha, se dice que anuncian el éxito. Pero si se presentan de frente, se toman como una prohibición: un presagio que advierte contra emprender esa expedición guerrera».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma summarizes traditional omen-lore for military action: the direction in which auspicious animals appear is read as guidance—favorable from behind/left at departure, favorable on the right in combat, but inauspicious when blocking the front, which signals restraint and reconsideration.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on governance and practical norms. Here he explains how commanders interpret signs at the time of marching or fighting, using the appearance of animals as indicators for proceeding or halting a war-journey.