Shloka 23
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 137 — Bhīṣma–Droṇa Counsel and the Ethics of Restraint
वाहनान्यप्रहृष्टानि रुदन्तीव विशाम्पते । गृध्रास्ते पर्युपासन्ते सैन्यानि च समन्तत:,'प्रजानाथ! हमारे सारे वाहन अप्रसन्न एवं रोते-से दिखायी देते हैं। गीध तुम्हारी सेनाओंको चारों ओरसे घेरकर बैठते हैं
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
vāhanāny aprahṛṣṭāni rudantīva viśāmpate |
gṛdhrās te paryupāsante sainyāni ca samantataḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana berkata: “Wahai tuan rakyat, segala kenderaan kita tampak muram, seolah-olah menangis; dan burung hering pula hinggap di sekeliling, mengepung bala tentera tuanku dari segala arah.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses inauspicious signs—dejected mounts and vultures gathering—to warn that war born of unrighteous intent brings inevitable grief and destruction; ethical failure in leadership manifests as collective suffering.
A narrator reports ominous portents to a king: the army’s conveyances seem dispirited and vultures surround the troops, suggesting impending slaughter and foreshadowing the disastrous consequences of the coming conflict.