Shloka 373
Droṇasya raudra-prayogaḥ
Droṇa’s intensified assault and the Pāṇḍava response
चिखादिषन्तो मांसानि पिपासन्तश्न शोणितम् । गीदड़ जोर-जोरसे दारुण एवं भयदायक बोली बोलने लगे और मांस खाने तथा रक्त पीनेकी इच्छासे बारंबार आपकी सेनाको दाहिने करके घूमने लगे
cikhādiṣantaḥ māṃsāni pipāsantaś ca śoṇitam | gīdṛāḥ jora-jora-se dāruṇaṃ evaṃ bhayadāyakaṃ bolī bolane lage aura māṃsa khāne tathā rakta pīne kī icchā se bārambāra āp kī senā ko dāhine karke ghūmne lage |
सञ्जय उवाच—दारुणं भयदं च नादं कुर्वन्तो गीदृशा मांसलोलुपाः शोणितपिपासवश्च, पुनः पुनस्तव सेनां दक्षिणीकृत्य परितोऽभिचक्रुः।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a battlefield omen to underline the ethical cost of war: when violence dominates, the world itself seems to anticipate bloodshed. Such signs function as narrative warnings that adharma and uncontrolled aggression lead toward ruin.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that jackals are howling terribly and repeatedly circling the Kaurava forces with the army on their right—an inauspicious sign suggesting imminent slaughter and demoralization.