Shloka 9
Chapter 14: Divyāstra-Prayoga and Ṛṣi Intervention (दिव्यास्त्रप्रयोगः ऋषिसमागमश्च)
निर्घाता बहवश्चासन् पेतुरुल्का: सहस्रशः । महद् भयं च भूतानां सर्वेषां समजायत,उस समय बारंबार वज्रपातके समान शब्द होने लगे, आकाशसे सहस्रों उल्काएँ टूट- टूटकर गिरने लगीं और समस्त प्राणियोंपर महान् भय छा गया
nirghātā bahavaś cāsan petur ulkāḥ sahasraśaḥ | mahad bhayaṃ ca bhūtānāṃ sarveṣāṃ samajāyata ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Many thunderous crashes resounded like lightning-strikes; thousands of meteors fell from the sky, and a great fear seized all living beings. The narrative frames these portents as nature’s ominous response to adharma and impending calamity, intensifying the moral darkness surrounding the night’s events.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how grave moral disorder in human action is mirrored by भय (fear) and अशुभ-निमित्त (inauspicious portents) in the world, suggesting that adharma generates collective anxiety and signals approaching consequences.
As the Sauptika Parva’s night unfolds, the scene is marked by repeated thunder-like crashes and thousands of meteors falling, causing universal fear among creatures—an ominous atmosphere foreshadowing further violence and catastrophe.