Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 31
शल्यवधे कौरवसेनाभङ्गः, भीमस्य गदायुद्धं, दुर्योधनस्य समाह्वानम्
Rout after Śalya’s fall; Bhīma’s mace engagement; Duryodhana’s rally
पपात महती चोल्का मध्येनादित्यमण्डलम् । सब ओर कबन्ध खड़े दिखायी दे रहे थे और सूर्यमण्डलके बीचसे वहाँ बड़ी भारी उल्का गिरी ।। रथैर्भग्नैर्युगाक्षैश्न निहतैश्व महारथै:
sañjaya uvāca |
papāta mahatī colkā madhyenādityamaṇḍalam |
sarvato kabaṇdhāḥ khaḍgā dṛśyante sma sūryamaṇḍalasya madhyena tatra bṛhatī ulkā nipapāta ||
rathair bhagnair yugākṣaiś ca nihatāiś ca mahārathaiḥ ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: Isang malaking bulalakaw ang bumagsak, na wari’y dumaan sa gitna mismo ng bilog ng araw. Sa magkabilang panig, may mga katawang walang ulo na nakatayong nakikita, at sa gitna ng diskong solar ay bumaba roon ang isang dambuhalang nagliliyab na pangitain. Nagkalat sa kapatagan ang mga wasak na karwahe, mga sirang pamatok at ehe, at ang mga dakilang mandirigma’y nabuwal na patay—isang masamang palatandaang lalo pang nagpalalim sa dilim na moral sa kasukdulan ng digmaan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how adharma-driven violence is accompanied—within epic poetics—by ominous portents: nature and perception mirror moral collapse. It warns that when righteous restraint is abandoned, the world appears disordered, and destruction multiplies.
Sañjaya reports terrifying battlefield sights and omens: a huge meteor seems to cut through the sun’s disc, headless bodies stand about, and the ground is littered with broken chariots and slain great warriors—signaling the war’s catastrophic intensity.