Shloka 28
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय २: संजयस्य दिव्यदृष्टिप्रदानम् तथा निमित्तवर्णनम्
Granting Sañjaya Divine Sight and the Description of Omens
कोकिला: शतपत्राश्न चाषा भासा: शुकास्तथा । सारसाश्ष मयूराश्न वाचो मुज्चन्ति दारुणा:,“कोयल, शतपत्र, नीलकण्ठ, भास (चील्ह), शुक, सारस तथा मयूर भयंकर बोली बोलते हैं
kokilāḥ śatapatrāś ca cāṣā bhāsāḥ śukās tathā | sārasāś ca mayūrāś ca vāco muñcanti dāruṇāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Cuckoos, śatapatra-birds, cāṣas, bhāsas, parrots, as well as cranes and peacocks, are all letting out harsh and dreadful cries.” In the war-setting, these ominous sounds function as portents, heightening the sense that adharma and destruction are imminent on the battlefield.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata motif that nature mirrors moral disorder: harsh, fearful bird-cries are read as ominous signs, warning that the coming conflict is saturated with danger and the consequences of adharma.
In Bhīṣma Parva’s opening war context, Vaiśampāyana describes unsettling sounds in the environment—various birds crying harshly—serving as inauspicious portents as the armies prepare for battle.