Shloka 33
उत्पातवर्णनम् (Utpāta-varṇanam) — Catalogue of Portents
अपर्वणि ग्रहेणैतौ प्रजा: संक्षपयिष्यत: । मांसवर्ष पुनस्तीव्रमासीत् कृष्णचतुर्दशीम् । शोणितैर्वक्त्रसम्पूर्णा अतृप्तास्तत्र राक्षसा:
aparvaṇi graheṇaitau prajāḥ saṅkṣapayīṣyataḥ | māṃsavarṣa punastīvram āsīt kṛṣṇacaturdaśīm | śoṇitair vaktrasampūrṇā atṛptās tatra rākṣasāḥ ||
Vyāsa berkata: “Karena gerhana terjadi pada waktu yang tidak semestinya dan tidak suci, Matahari dan Bulan akan menjadi alat kehancuran bagi rakyat. Lagi pula, pada hari keempat belas paruh gelap, turun hujan daging dengan ganas. Saat itu mulut para rākṣasa penuh darah; mereka meminumnya, namun tetap tidak puas.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames moral and social collapse as mirrored by cosmic disorder: unnatural eclipses and horrific portents signal that collective adharma leads to widespread suffering and destruction, especially in the context of impending war.
Vyāsa reports terrifying omens—an ill-timed eclipse and a ‘rain of flesh’ on the dark-fortnight fourteenth day—along with blood-sated yet unsatisfied rākṣasas, all foreshadowing mass death and the catastrophic violence about to unfold.