Mahabharata 6.3.30 — Bhishma Parva, Adhyaya 3, Shloka 30

उत्पातवर्णनम् (Utpāta-varṇanam) — Catalogue of Portents

Devanagari script

कृत्तिकां पीडयंस्ती&णैर्नक्षत्रं पृथिवीपते । अभीक्षणवाता वायन्ते धूमकेतुमवस्थिता:

Transliteration

kṛttikāṃ pīḍayaṃstīvrakarmaṇāir nakṣatraṃ pṛthivīpate | abhīkṣṇavātā vāyante dhūmaketum avasthitāḥ ||

Translation

வியாசர் கூறினார்—பூமிபதியே! ராகு கிருத்திகா நட்சத்திரத்தைத் துன்புறுத்துகிறான். தூமகேது எனும் அபசகுனத்தைத் தொடர்ந்து மீண்டும் மீண்டும் கொடிய காற்றுகள் எழுந்து வீசுகின்றன.

Word by Word

• {'kṛttikām': 'Kṛttikā

• the lunar mansion (nakṣatra) associated with the Pleiades', 'pīḍayan': 'afflicting, tormenting, causing distress', 'tīvra': 'sharp, intense, fierce', 'karmaṇā': 'by actions/deeds

• here implying harsh or ominous operations', 'nakṣatram': 'star/asterism

• lunar mansion', 'pṛthivīpate': 'O lord of the earth

• king (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)', 'abhīkṣṇam': 'repeatedly, again and again', 'vātāḥ': 'winds, gusts', 'vāyante': 'blow, move as wind', 'dhūmaketu': 'comet

• a portent in epic-astrological language', 'avasthitāḥ': 'situated, stationed

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Rāhu
• Kṛttikā (nakṣatra)
• Dhūmaketu (comet)
• Pṛthivīpati (the king, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames moral and political catastrophe as mirrored by cosmic portents: when cruel forces dominate and dharma is endangered, nature appears disordered, warning rulers to recognize consequences and act with discernment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa reports ominous astronomical signs to the king: Rāhu is said to ‘afflict’ the Kṛttikā nakṣatra, and fierce winds repeatedly arise in association with a comet—signals of impending calamity around the great war.