Srimad Bhagavatam — Tritiya Skandha, Shloka 11
Portents at the Birth of Diti’s Sons and Hiraṇyākṣa Challenges Varuṇa
खराश्च कर्कशै: क्षत्त: खुरैर्घ्नन्तो धरातलम् । खार्काररभसा मत्ता: पर्यधावन् वरूथश: ॥ ११ ॥
kharāś ca karkaśaiḥ kṣattaḥ khurair ghnanto dharā-talam khārkāra-rabhasā mattāḥ paryadhāvan varūthaśaḥ
اے خَطّا (ودور)، گدھے سخت کھروں سے زمین کو مارتے ہوئے، مدہوشی میں جھنڈ کے جھنڈ اِدھر اُدھر دوڑتے اور کرخت آواز میں رینکتے رہے۔
Asses also feel very respectable as a race, and when they run in flocks hither and thither in so-called jollity, it is understood to be a bad sign for human society.
FAQs
This verse depicts unnatural agitation in animals—asses pounding the earth and running in troops—presented as a sign of impending upheaval, a common Bhagavatam motif where nature reflects approaching conflict or imbalance.
‘Kṣattā’ is Vidura’s title as a royal minister/attendant in the Kuru court; the address keeps the narration personal and anchored to Vidura’s role as the earnest inquirer hearing these events in sequence.
It encourages alertness: when agitation and disorder increase, one should take shelter of sādhana—hearing, chanting, and steadying the mind—rather than being swept away by the surrounding frenzy.