Shloka 28
Udyoga Parva 142: Vidura’s warning to Kuntī and Kuntī’s resolve to meet Karṇa
Gaṅgātīra encounter begins
पूर्वा दिगू लोहिताकारा शस्त्रवर्णा च दक्षिणा । आमपात्रप्रतीकाशा पश्चिमा मधुसूदन । उत्तरा शड्खवर्णाभा दिशां वर्णा उदाह्वता:,“श्रीकृष्ण! पूर्व दिशा लाल, दक्षिण दिशा शस्त्रोंके समान रंगवाली (काली), पश्चिम दिशा मिट्टीके कच्चे बर्तनोंकी भाँति मटमैली तथा उत्तर दिशा शंखके समान श्वेत दिखायी देती है। इस प्रकार ये दिशाओंके पृथक्-पृथक् वर्ण बताये गये हैं
sañjaya uvāca |
pūrvā dig lohitākārā śastravarṇā ca dakṣiṇā |
āmapātrapratīkāśā paścimā madhusūdana |
uttarā śaṅkhavarṇābhā diśāṃ varṇā udāhṛtāḥ ||
Sañjaya disse: “Ó Madhusūdana, o quadrante oriental parece avermelhado; o meridional tem o tom escuro e áspero das armas; o ocidental se mostra baço como vasos de barro ainda não cozidos; e o setentrional brilha branco como uma concha. Assim são descritas as cores distintas das direções.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how moral crisis and impending violence are reflected through ominous signs in nature. It implies that when adharma rises and war becomes unavoidable, even the world’s ordinary order (here, the directions’ appearance) seems disturbed, urging leaders to recognize consequences and seek righteous restraint.
Sañjaya reports to his listener (addressing Kṛṣṇa as Madhusūdana) a set of visual portents: each direction appears with a distinct, unsettling colour—red in the east, weapon-dark in the south, clay-dull in the west, and conch-white in the north—signaling the tense, foreboding atmosphere before the great conflict.