Shloka 41
इन्द्रस्य दुःखप्राप्तिः—त्रिशिरोवधः, वृत्रोत्पत्तिः, जृम्भिकाजननम्
Indra’s Distress: Slaying of Triśiras, Birth of Vṛtra, and the Origin of Yawning
येन सर्वा दिशो राजन् पिबन्निव निरीक्षते | तस्माद् वकक्त्राद विनिश्रेरुस्तित्तिरास्तस्य पाण्डव,युधिष्ठिर! जिसके द्वारा वे सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंको इस प्रकार देखते थे, मानो पी जायूँगे, उस मुखसे तीतर पक्षी निकले
yena sarvā diśo rājan pibann iva nirīkṣate | tasmād vaktrād viniśrerus tittirās tasya pāṇḍava yudhiṣṭhira |
രാജാവേ! അവൻ എല്ലാ ദിക്കുകളെയും കുടിച്ചെടുക്കുന്നതുപോലെ നോക്കിയിരുന്ന ആ ദൃഷ്ടിയുള്ളവന്റെ അതേ വായിൽ നിന്നുതന്നെ—ഹേ പാണ്ഡവ—തിത്തിരിപ്പക്ഷികൾ പുറത്തുവന്നു.
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how extraordinary, even unsettling, signs (nimitta) are read in epic narrative as moral and political warnings: when leaders move toward adharma and war, nature and the body itself are portrayed as producing portents that invite reflection, restraint, and ethical discernment.
Śalya addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and describes a striking portent: a figure whose gaze seems to ‘drink in’ all directions, and from whose mouth partridges suddenly emerge—an image used to convey ominous abnormality and the charged atmosphere preceding conflict.