Shloka 4
अध्याय ९ — दुर्योधनस्य अन्त्यावस्था, विलापः, तथा सौप्तिक-प्रतिवृत्तम्
Duryodhana’s Final Condition, Lamentation, and the Night’s Report
वृतं समन्ताद् बहुभि: श्वापदैर्घोरदर्शनै: । शालावृकगणैश्वैव भक्षयिष्यद्धिरन्तिकात्
vṛtaṃ samantād bahubhiḥ śvāpadair ghoradarśanaiḥ | śālāvṛkagaṇaiś caiva bhakṣayiṣyad dhir antikāt ||
संजय म्हणाला—तो सर्व बाजूंनी अनेक भयंकर दिसणाऱ्या हिंस्र श्वापदांनी वेढलेला होता; आणि कोल्ह्यांचे कळपही अगदी जवळ होते, जणू त्याला भक्षण करण्यास सिद्ध।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim moral and psychological aftermath of war: when violence prevails, the world reflects it through fear, ominous signs, and the breakdown of human order—symbolized by predators gathering to feed.
Sañjaya describes a scene (the battlefield/its vicinity) encircled by terrifying wild animals and packs of jackals nearby, poised to devour what lies there—evoking the horror following the night of slaughter in the Sauptika episode.