Shloka 45
उत्पातवर्णनम् (Utpāta-varṇanam) — Catalogue of Portents
ध्यायन्त: प्रकिरन्तश्न व्याला वेपथुसंयुता: । दीनास्तुरड्रमा: सर्वे वारणा: सलिलाश्रया:,दुष्ट हाथी काँपते और चिन्ता करते हुए भयके मारे मल-मूत्र त्याग कर रहे हैं, घोड़े अत्यन्त दीन हो रहे हैं और सम्पूर्ण गजराज पसीने-पसीने हो रहे हैं
dhyāyantaḥ prakirantaś ca vyālā vepathusaṁyutāḥ | dīnāś turagamāḥ sarve vāraṇāḥ salilāśrayāḥ ||
Vyāsa said: The beasts, seized by trembling fear, stand brooding and, in panic, void their filth. The horses have become utterly dejected, and the great elephants—clinging to water for relief—are drenched in sweat. The scene signals an ominous moral atmosphere: when adharma gathers for war, even animals reflect the dread and disorder that precede calamity.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the distress of animals as an ethical omen: when a great conflict is driven by adharma and impending destruction, disorder appears not only in human minds but in the natural world as well, warning of the moral cost of war.
Vyāsa describes fearful portents around the armies: beasts tremble and panic, horses lose spirit, and elephants sweat heavily and seek water—signs of anxiety and impending catastrophe as the war atmosphere intensifies.