Shloka 35
अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः
Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve
वीक्षमाणो वनोद्देशं नानासत्त्वैर्निषेवितम् । अपश्यत महाबाहुर्न्यग्रोधं वायसैर्युतम्,नाना प्रकारके जीव-जन्तुओंसे सेवित वनस्थलीका निरीक्षण करते हुए महाबाहु अश्व॒ृत्थामाने कौओंसे भरे हुए वटवृक्षपर दृष्टिपात किया
vīkṣamāṇo vanoddeśaṃ nānāsattvair niṣevitam | apaśyata mahābāhur nyagrodhaṃ vāyasair yutam ||
サञ्जयは語った。強大な腕をもつアシュヴァッターマーが、さまざまな生き物の集う森の一角を見渡していると、烏が群れ集まって枝を埋める一本のバニヤン樹が目に入った。戦後の不吉な静寂の中、その光景は捕食と凶兆のしるしとなり、これから夜に展開する暴虐を縁取る。まるで自然そのものが、まもなく降りるアダルマの闇を映しているかのようであった。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a natural image—crows massed on a banyan in a forest alive with many creatures—to foreshadow predatory, night-bound action. In the ethical frame of the Sauptika episode, such omens underscore how violence pursued in darkness and rage tends toward adharma, even when carried out by renowned warriors.
Sañjaya describes Aśvatthāmā moving through and observing a forest area. While scanning the surroundings, he spots a banyan tree filled with crows—an atmospheric detail that sets the scene and signals the grim events that will follow in the night.