Shloka 37
Droṇasya raudra-prayogaḥ
Droṇa’s intensified assault and the Pāṇḍava response
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.
サञ्जयは言った。「王よ、そのとき禿鷲、鷹、鷺、鳶、そして幾千の烏が、そなたの軍の上を繰り返し旋回し始めた。さらに豺（ジャッカル）も、恐怖を呼ぶ荒々しく凄惨な声で鳴き立て、幾度も軍勢の左を不吉に回り込んだ——これらの兆しは戦場の道義の気配をいよいよ暗くし、アダルマと破壊の意志に駆られる者に災厄が迫ることを告げていた。」
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.