Shloka 8
Vainya-Aśvamedhe Atri–Gautama–Sanatkumāra-Nirṇaya
Vainya’s Sacrifice and the Settlement of a Dharmic Dispute
स्तोकका: शिखिनश्चैव पुंस्कोकिलगणै: सह । मत्ता: परिपतन्ति सम दर्दुराश्चैव दर्पिता:,पपीहा और मोर नर-कोकिलोंके साथ आनन्दोन्मत्त होकर इधर-उधर उड़ने लगे और मेढक भी घमण्डमें आकर इधर-उधर कूदते और टर्र-टर्र करते थे
stokakāḥ śikhinaś caiva puṁskokilagaṇaiḥ saha | mattāḥ paripatanti sma saṁdardurāś caiva darpitāḥ ||
Disse Vaiśampāyana: Os cucos e os pavões, junto com bandos de cucos machos, embriagaram-se de alegria e voaram em todas as direções; e as rãs também, inchadas de exuberância, saltavam de um lado para outro, coaxando alto—sinais da vitalidade renovada da natureza e do ímpeto de vida que a estação faz crescer.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily sets atmosphere rather than issuing a direct moral injunction: it highlights how the natural world responds exuberantly to favorable conditions, suggesting the broader Mahābhārata theme that time (kāla) and circumstance powerfully shape behavior and mood.
Vaiśampāyana describes a lively scene in nature: cuckoos and peacocks fly about in seasonal excitement, while frogs leap and croak loudly—an auditory and visual marker of a flourishing, rain- or spring-touched landscape in the forest setting of the Vana Parva.