Shloka 18
Āśvamedhika Parva, Adhyāya 77 — Saindhava resistance, Arjuna’s restraint, and Duḥśalā’s supplication
शशं चाशु विनिर्भिद्य मण्डलं शशिनो5पतत् । विपरीता दिशश्वापि सर्वा धूमाकुलास्तथा
śaśaṃ cāśu vinirbhidya maṇḍalaṃ śaśino ’patat | viparītā diśaś cāpi sarvā dhūmākulās tathā ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: Ang masasamang palatandaang gaya ng bulalakaw ay mabilis na tumama at bumiyak sa tanda ng liyebre sa Buwan, saka nagbagsakan sa paligid ng bilog ng buwan. Ang lahat ng dako ay nalunod din sa usok at waring nagbaligtaran—isang nakapanghihilakbot na hudyat na ang likás na kaayusan ay nababaligtad at ang kapahamakan at pagkaligalig ng asal ay nalalapit sa daigdig.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When the cosmos appears disordered—moon-marks struck, directions inverted, smoke everywhere—the epic frames it as a moral warning: collective adharma and looming danger manifest as unsettling portents, urging rulers and society toward vigilance and restoration of dharma.
The narrator describes terrifying celestial omens: fiery objects (implied meteors/ulkaa) seem to strike the Moon’s hare-mark and fall around it, while all quarters become smoke-filled and appear reversed—an atmosphere of impending crisis.