Shloka 13

Udyoga Parva 142: Vidura’s warning to Kuntī and Kuntī’s resolve to meet Karṇa

Gaṅgātīra encounter begins

Devanagari script

प्रादुर्भूतेषु चैतेषु भयमाहुरुपस्थितम्‌ । निमित्तेषु महाबाहो दारुणं प्राणिनाशनम्‌,“महाबाहो! कहते हैं, इन निमित्तों (उत्पातसूचक लक्षणों)-के प्रकट होनेपर प्राणियोंके विनाश करनेवाले दारुण भयकी उपस्थिति होती है

Transliteration

prādurbhūteṣu caiteṣu bhayam āhur upasthitam | nimitteṣu mahābāho dāruṇaṁ prāṇināśanam ||

Translation

संजय म्हणाला—हे महाबाहो! असे म्हणतात की अशी निमित्ते प्रकट झाली की प्राणिनाश करणारे दारुण भय उपस्थित होते.

Word by Word

प्रादुर्भूतेषुwhen (they) have appeared; in the manifested (omens)

चand

एतेषुin these

भयम्fear

आहुःthey say

उपस्थितम्present; having come near

निमित्तेषुin the omens/signs

महाबाहोO mighty-armed one

दारुणम्terrible

प्राणिनाशनम्destroying living beings

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

mahābāho (addressed person, traditionally Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the traditional ethical-political warning function of omens: when destructive signs appear, wise rulers should recognize them as signals of impending harm and reconsider actions that lead to mass loss of life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that ominous phenomena have appeared; such portents are commonly interpreted as indicating an approaching catastrophe, foreshadowing the devastation of the coming conflict.