Shloka 34
आयोधनदर्शनम्
Viewing the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra
तेषामाभरणान्येते गृध्रगोमायुवायसा: । आशक्षिपन्ति शिवा घोरा विनदन्त्य: पुन: पुन:,“उनके आभूषणोंको ये गीध, गीदड़, कौए और भयानक गीदड़ियाँ बारंबार चिल्लाती हुई इधर-उधर फेंकती हैं
teṣām ābharaṇāny ete gṛdhragomāyuvāyasāḥ | āśakṣipanti śivā ghorā vinadantyaḥ punaḥ punaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “These vultures, jackals, and crows are snatching away their ornaments; and the dreadful female jackals, crying out again and again, toss them about here and there.” The scene underscores the moral collapse that follows war: even the marks of dignity and household honor—ornaments—become prey amid death and disorder.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and social ruin that follows large-scale violence: when dharma is shattered by war, even symbols of honor and domestic prosperity (ornaments) lose their sanctity and become objects of scavenging, accompanied by ominous cries that signify disorder and grief.
In the post-battle landscape described in Strīparvan, scavenger birds and animals—vultures, jackals, and crows—are depicted seizing and scattering ornaments from the fallen, while female jackals howl repeatedly, intensifying the atmosphere of horror and mourning.