Shloka 27
प्रावृट्-शरत्-वर्णनम् — Description of the Monsoon and Autumn; Sarasvatī in the Pāṇḍavas’ Exile
त्रासनं सर्वभूतानां कालान्तकयमोपमम् निःश्वासक्ष्वेडनादेन भर्त्सयन्तमिव स्थितम
vaiśampāyana uvāca | trāsanaṁ sarvabhūtānāṁ kālāntaka-yamopamam | niḥśvāsa-kṣveḍa-nādena bhartsayantam iva sthitam ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: Ali estava aquela terrível serpente, aterrorizando todas as criaturas—como o próprio Kālāntaka e Yama—parecendo repreender e acovardar os outros com o estrondo do seu hálito e o seu silvo rugidor. A passagem ressalta que o medo pode nascer da mera força e aparência, pondo à prova a firmeza e o discernimento de quem o enfrenta.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming displays of power and the imagery of death can destabilize beings; the ethical challenge implied is to meet fear with steadiness and discernment rather than panic, especially in trials encountered in the forest life of the epic.
Vaiśampāyana describes a terrifying serpent standing before others, likened to death-deities (Kālāntaka and Yama), whose loud breathing and hissing make it seem as though it is threatening and rebuking all creatures.