Shloka 27
अनाहता दुन्दुभय: प्रणदन्ति विशाम्पते । असुक्ताश्ष प्रवर्तन्ते क्षत्रियाणां महारथा:,“राजन! दुन्दुभियाँ बिना बजाये बज उठती हैं और क्षत्रियोंके बड़े-बड़े रथ बिना जोते ही चल पड़ते हैं
anāhatā dundubhayaḥ praṇadanti viśāmpate | asuktāś ca pravartante kṣatriyāṇāṃ mahārathāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O lord of the people, the war-drums resound though none has struck them; and the great chariots of the kṣatriyas begin to move though not yet yoked. Such portents proclaim that the hour of battle has ripened—an ominous summons in which human will seems overtaken by the momentum of destiny and the grave demands of kṣatriya-dharma.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ominous portents that suggest the war is not merely a human undertaking but a moment driven by larger forces—destiny and the binding demands of kṣatriya-dharma—warning that violence, once set in motion, can feel inevitable and morally weighty.
Vaiśampāyana reports to the king that extraordinary signs appear: drums sound without being struck and chariots move without being yoked, indicating that the battlefield is charged with foreboding and that the great warriors’ forces are being drawn toward imminent combat.