Shloka 31
Śakuntalā’s Satya-Discourse and the Recognition of Bharata (शकुन्तला–सत्योपदेशः; भरतप्रतिग्रहः)
वन्या गजवरास्तत्र ममृदुर्मनुजान् बहून् । तद् वनं बलमेघेन शरधारेण संवृतम् | व्यरोचत मृगाकीर्ण राज्ञा हतमृगाधिपम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
vanyā gajavarās tatra mamṛdur manujān bahūn |
tad vanaṃ balameghena śaradhāreṇa saṃvṛtam |
vyarocata mṛgākīrṇaṃ rājñā hatamṛgādhipam |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。—そこでは、逃げ惑う野象の猛きものどもが、多くの人間を踏み潰した。その森は—まるで天空のように—四方から雲のごとき軍勢に囲まれ、矢の雨を降らされていた。獣が群れ満ちていながら、いよいよ輝いて見えたのは、王がすでにその森の“主たる捕食者”（獅子）を討ち果たしていたからである。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical cost of violence: in the chaos of armed conflict (and royal hunting), not only intended targets but many innocents suffer. It also hints at the king’s power over nature and men, inviting reflection on restraint and responsibility in the use of force.
A forest scene turns into a battlefield-like tableau: wild elephants crush fleeing people, while an army surrounds the area and showers arrows like rain. The forest is described as crowded with beasts and made ‘splendid’ in a grim sense because the king has already killed its chief predators (lions).