Shloka 25

Devanagari script

एकपक्षाक्षिचरणा: पक्षिणो मधुसूदन । उत्सृजन्ति महद्‌ घोरं तत्‌ पराभवलक्षणम्‌,“मधुसूदन! एक पाँख, एक आँख और एक पैरवाले पक्षी अत्यन्त भयंकर शब्द करते हैं। यह भी कौरवपक्षकी पराजयका ही लक्षण है

Transliteration

ekapakṣākṣicaraṇāḥ pakṣiṇo madhusūdana | utsṛjanti mahad ghoraṃ tat parābhavalakṣaṇam ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Madhusūdana, burung-burung yang cacat—hanya memiliki satu sayap, satu mata, dan satu kaki—mengeluarkan pekik yang keras dan mengerikan. Itu pun pertanda kekalahan yang mendekat.”

Word by Word

एकपक्षाक्षिचरणाःhaving one wing, one eye, and one foot

पक्षिणःbirds

मधुसूदनO Madhusūdana (Krishna)

उत्सृजन्तिthey emit / utter / produce

महत्great, loud

घोरम्terrible, dreadful

तत्that (omen/sound)

पराभवलक्षणम्a sign of defeat

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Madhusūdana (Kṛṣṇa)

birds (pakṣiṇaḥ)

portent/omen (parābhavalakṣaṇam)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s moral logic that unrighteous resolve (adharma) draws warnings and consequences; ominous signs function as ethical alarms, urging reflection and restraint before irreversible violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the listener that terrifying, abnormal birds are crying out—an inauspicious omen interpreted as a sign of imminent defeat for the side headed toward wrongdoing in the coming conflict.