Shloka 39
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 72 — Bhīmasena’s counsel on conciliation and Duryodhana’s disposition
मृगा: शकुन्ताश्न वदन्ति घोरं हस्त्यश्वमुख्येषु निशामुखेषु । घोराणि रूपाणि तथैव चाग्नि- वर्णान् बहून् पुष्यति घोररूपान्
mṛgāḥ śakuntāś ca vadanti ghoraṁ hasty-aśva-mukhyeṣu niśā-mukheṣu | ghorāṇi rūpāṇi tathaiva cāgni-varṇān bahūn puṣyati ghora-rūpān ||
Ang mga hayop sa gubat at mga ibon ay nagbubuga ng nakapangingilabot na hiyaw. Sa paglapit ng gabi, sa hanay ng mga pangunahing elepante at kabayo, may nakikitang mga anyong nakatatakot. Gayundin, ang apoy ay nag-aanyong iba-iba at nagtataglay ng maraming kulay na masama ang pahiwatig at nakagigimbal.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a righteous ruler reads the moral atmosphere of events: widespread fear and disorder in nature are taken as warnings that adharma and impending violence bring collective disturbance. It frames war not as glory but as a calamity whose approach is sensed through ominous signs.
In Udyoga Parva, as the Kurukṣetra conflict draws near, Yudhiṣṭhira observes (or hears reported) inauspicious portents—terrifying cries of animals and birds, strange fearful appearances among elephants and horses at nightfall, and fire showing ominous colors—interpreting them as forebodings of disaster.