Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 49
Duryodhana-patana-anuśocana
The Fall of Duryodhana and the Contest of Restraint
ववुर्वाता: सनिर्घाता: पांशुवर्ष पपात च | चचाल पृथिवी चापि सवृक्षक्षुपपर्वता
vavur vātāḥ sanirghātāḥ pāṁśuvarṣaṁ papāta ca | cacāla pṛthivī cāpi savṛkṣakṣupaparvatā ||
Vāyu-deva dit : «Des vents se levèrent avec des fracas de tonnerre ; une pluie de poussière tomba. La terre elle-même trembla, avec ses arbres, ses buissons et ses montagnes.» Dans l’atmosphère morale de la guerre, ces présages violents signalent une rupture de l’ordre : la nature semble reculer d’effroi, reflétant l’adharma et l’élan catastrophique du champ de bataille.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses cosmic disturbance as an ethical mirror: when violence and adharma intensify, the world is portrayed as losing stability. Such imagery warns that unrighteous action does not remain private—it reverberates through society and, symbolically, through nature itself.
Vāyu-deva describes ominous battlefield signs: roaring winds, a shower of dust, and the trembling of the earth with its vegetation and mountains. These are portents indicating an impending calamity and the heightened, destructive phase of the war.
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