Shloka 27
प्रावृट्-शरत्-वर्णनम् — Description of the Monsoon and Autumn; Sarasvatī in the Pāṇḍavas’ Exile
त्रासनं सर्वभूतानां कालान्तकयमोपमम् निःश्वासक्ष्वेडनादेन भर्त्सयन्तमिव स्थितम
vaiśampāyana uvāca | trāsanaṁ sarvabhūtānāṁ kālāntaka-yamopamam | niḥśvāsa-kṣveḍa-nādena bhartsayantam iva sthitam ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。そこにその恐るべき大蛇が立ち、あらゆる生きものを震え上がらせていた——まるでカ―ラーンタカとヤマそのもののように。雷鳴のごとき吐息と、威嚇するシューという咆哮で、他を叱り伏せるかのように見えた。この段は、恐れがただ力と外貌からも生じうること、そしてそれが対峙する者の胆力と見識を試すことを示している。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming displays of power and the imagery of death can destabilize beings; the ethical challenge implied is to meet fear with steadiness and discernment rather than panic, especially in trials encountered in the forest life of the epic.
Vaiśampāyana describes a terrifying serpent standing before others, likened to death-deities (Kālāntaka and Yama), whose loud breathing and hissing make it seem as though it is threatening and rebuking all creatures.