Shloka 4
Saṃsāra-Gahana Allegory: The Brāhmaṇa in the Forest and Well (संसारगहन-आख्यान)
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत स्त्रीपर्वके अन्तर्गत जलप्रदानिकपर्वमें धृतराष््रके शीकका निवारणविषयक चौथा अध्याय पूरा हुआ,सिंहव्याप्रगजक्षौंघैरतिघोरं महास्वनै: । पिशितादैरतिभयैर्महोग्राकृतिभिस्तथा
siṁha-vyāghra-gaja-kṣauṅghair ati-ghoraṁ mahā-svanaiḥ | piśitādair ati-bhayair mahā-ugrākṛtibhis tathā ||
With troops of lions, tigers, and elephants—making exceedingly dreadful, thunderous roars—and likewise with flesh-eaters (carnivorous beings) of terrifying nature and immensely fierce forms, the scene is evoked as one of overwhelming fear and tumult. In the Stree Parva’s lamentation context, such imagery heightens the moral horror of war’s aftermath and the sense that the world itself has become hostile and unrecognizable.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse’s terrifying animal imagery underscores the ethical devastation of war: when dharma collapses, the world is experienced as perilous and chaotic, mirroring inner and social disorder. It serves as a moral intensifier within the Stree Parva’s grief-filled reflection on the consequences of violence.
In the Stree Parva’s setting of mourning and shock after the Kurukṣetra slaughter, the text evokes a dreadful soundscape and threatening presence—like hosts of roaring lions, tigers, elephants, and fearsome flesh-eaters—conveying how the battlefield environment feels ominous and terrifying.