Shloka 37
नरेश्वर! उस समय गीध, बाज, बगले, कंक और हजारों कौवे आपकी सेनाके ऊपर- ऊपर उड़ने लगे ।। गोमायवदश्च प्राक्रोशन् भयदान् दारुणान् रवान् | अकार्षुरपसव्यं च बहुश: पृतनां तव
nareśvara! tadā gṛdhrāḥ śyenā baka-kāṅkāś ca sahasraśaḥ kākaś ca tava senāyā upari-upari vyacaranta. gomāyavaś ca prākrośan bhayadān dāruṇān ravān; akāruṣur apasavyaṃ ca bahuśaḥ pṛtanāṃ tava.
Sañjaya said: “O king, at that time vultures, hawks, herons, kites, and thousands of crows began circling again and again above your army. Jackals, too, cried out with harsh, fear-bringing calls, and repeatedly moved inauspiciously to the left around your host—omens that darkened the moral atmosphere of the battle and foretold calamity for those driven by adharma and destructive intent.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the epic frames war not only as physical conflict but as a moral event: ominous signs gather over an army when violence is propelled by unrighteousness, arrogance, and destructive resolve. Such portents function as ethical warnings—signals that adharma invites ruin.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that carrion birds and jackals appear and behave in inauspicious ways over the Kaurava forces. Their circling overhead and leftward (apasavya) movement are traditional battlefield omens, foreshadowing fear, disorder, and impending losses.