Shloka 20
उभे पूर्वापरे संध्ये नित्यं पश्यामि भारत । उदयास्तमने सूर्य कबन्धै: परिवारितम्,'भारत! मैं प्रातः और सायं दोनों संध्याओंके समय उदय और अस्तकी वेलामें सूर्यदेवको प्रतिदिन कबन्धोंसे घिरा हुआ देखता हूँ
ubhe pūrvāpare sandhye nityaṁ paśyāmi bhārata | udayāstamane sūryaṁ kabandhaiḥ parivāritam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Bhārata, at both junctions of day—morning and evening—I continually behold the Sun at the moments of rising and setting, hemmed in by headless trunks (kabandhas).” The sight is presented as an ominous portent, suggesting a world-order disturbed and foretelling the mass slaughter and moral upheaval that war brings.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how adharma and impending violence manifest as disturbances in the natural and moral order. The ‘Sun surrounded by kabandhas’ functions as a warning: when society moves toward unjust slaughter, even the symbols of light and order appear eclipsed by death.
In Bhīṣma Parva’s opening, Vaiśampāyana narrates to King Janamejaya a series of terrifying portents seen around the time of the Kurukṣetra war. Here he reports a recurring vision at dawn and dusk: the Sun at rising and setting appears encircled by kabandhas, foreshadowing widespread carnage.