Shloka 96

Devanagari script

भूलिड्रशकुनाश्चान्ये सामुद्रा: पर्वतोद्धवा: । कहीं मनुष्योंके समान मुखवाले “भारुण्ड' नामक पक्षी बोलते थे। कहीं समुद्रतट और पर्वतोंपर रहनेवाले भूलिड़ पक्षी तथा अन्य विहंगम चहचहा रहे थे

Transliteration

bhūliḍraśakunāś cānye sāmudrāḥ parvatoddhavāḥ |

Translation

ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ചില സ്ഥലങ്ങളിൽ മനുഷ്യരെപ്പോലെ മുഖമുള്ള ‘ഭാരുണ്ഡ’ എന്ന പക്ഷികൾ സംസാരിച്ചുകൊണ്ടിരുന്നു. ചിലിടങ്ങളിൽ കടൽത്തീരത്തും പർവ്വതങ്ങളിലും വസിക്കുന്ന ഭൂലിഡ പക്ഷികളും മറ്റു വിഹംഗങ്ങളും മധുരകലരവം മുഴക്കിക്കൊണ്ടിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

भूलिड्रशकुनाःBhūliḍra-birds (a kind of bird)

चand

अन्येothers

सामुद्राःmarine; sea-dwelling

पर्वतोद्धवाःmountain-born / arising from mountains

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

bhūliḍra birds

śakuna (birds/omen-birds)

sea/coast (samudra)

mountains (parvata)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contributes to a broader Shānti Parva vision in which dharma is contemplated against the backdrop of the natural and cosmic world. By depicting diverse creatures in their proper habitats (sea-shore, mountains), it implicitly reinforces the idea of order (niyati/ṛta-like regularity) and the many signs through which the world can be read—encouraging attentiveness, restraint, and reflection in ethical life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is describing a scene rich with sounds of birds from different regions—coastal and mountainous—suggesting a vivid landscape and an atmosphere where natural phenomena may be taken as meaningful signs. The line is part of a descriptive passage rather than a direct injunction, setting tone and context for the surrounding discourse.