Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
अगाच्छोषं समुद्रश्न हिमवांश्व व्यशीर्यत । पृथ्वी काँपने लगी
agāc choṣaṁ samudraś ca himavāṁś ca vyaśīryata | pṛthivī cākampata, ākāśaṁ ca vyacalyata | sarvāṇi tejasvīni padārthāḥ (graha-nakṣatrādayaḥ) niṣprabhāṇy abhavan | brahmā cāsanāt papāta | samudraḥ śuṣyate sma, himavān ca vidīryate sma || 121 || tasminn evaṁ samutpanne nimitte pāṇḍunandana, pāṇḍunandana! evaṁvidheṣv apashakuneṣu prādurbhūteṣu brahmā devatābhiḥ saha mahātmabhir ṛṣibhiś ca sārdhaṁ śīghram ājagāma tat sthānaṁ yatra yuddhaṁ pravartate sma || 122 ||
El océano empezó a secarse y el Himalaya se resquebrajó. La tierra tembló y el cielo pareció tambalearse. Todos los cuerpos radiantes —planetas y estrellas— perdieron su brillo. El propio Brahmā cayó de su asiento. Al surgir tales presagios funestos, oh hijo de Pāṇḍu, Brahmā acudió con presteza al campo de batalla, acompañado por los dioses y los grandes sabios, al mismo lugar donde la guerra rugía.
अर्जुन उवाच
When adharma-driven violence reaches a critical intensity, the tradition portrays the cosmos itself as reacting through ominous signs. The episode underscores moral causality: grave ethical disorder in human action is mirrored as disturbance in the natural and divine order, prompting higher beings (Brahmā, gods, seers) to bear witness and intervene.
A series of catastrophic portents appears—ocean drying, Himalaya splitting, earth and sky shaking, celestial lights dimming, and Brahmā falling from his seat. In response to these inauspicious signs, Brahmā arrives swiftly at the place where the battle is occurring, accompanied by gods and great sages.