Shloka 423
अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः
Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve
न्यग्रोधमण्डलं सर्व संछन्न॑ सर्वतो5भवत् | प्रजानाथ! उस बलवान् उल्लूने, जो-जो कौए उसकी दृष्टिमें आ गये, उन सबको क्षणभरमें मार डाला। इससे वह सारा वटवृक्ष कौओंके शरीरों तथा उनके विभिन्न अवयवोंद्वारा सब ओरसे आच्छादित हो गया
nyagrodhamaṇḍalaṃ sarvaṃ saṃchannaṃ sarvato ’bhavat | prajānātha! sa balavān ullūkaḥ yo-yo kākāḥ tasya dṛṣṭiṃ āgatāḥ, tān sarvān kṣaṇabhareṇa jaghāna | tena sa sarvo vaṭavṛkṣaḥ kākānāṃ śarīraiḥ teṣāṃ ca vividhair avayavaiḥ sarvata ācchāditaḥ abhavat |
Санджая сказал: «О владыка людей, вся крона баньяна была со всех сторон покрыта. Могучая сова, мгновенно убивая всякого ворона, попадавшего ей на глаза, оставила всё дерево вокруг завешанным телами ворон и их разметанными членами».
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses stark predatory imagery—an owl instantly slaughtering crows—to foreshadow the ruthless, night-bound violence of the Sauptika episode. Ethically, it underscores how war can slide into adharma when killing becomes swift, indiscriminate, and dehumanizing.
Sanjaya reports that a powerful owl kills every crow that comes into its sight, so that the banyan’s canopy becomes covered on all sides with the crows’ bodies and severed parts—an ominous scene setting the tone for the events of the Sauptika Parva.