Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 85
Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha
Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site
स शालस्कन्धशबलं त्रस्तवानरवारणम् | प्रोड्डीनोदभ्रान्तविहगं विनिष्पतितपन्नगम्
sa śālaskandhaśabalaṃ trastavānaravāraṇam | proḍḍīnodabhrāntavihagaṃ viniṣpatitapannagam
Vaiśampāyana nói: Cảnh ấy lốm đốm như thân cây śāla, ghê rợn đến nỗi làm khỉ và voi cũng kinh hoàng; khiến chim chóc bay vọt lên, quay cuồng hỗn loạn, và xua rắn rết lao ra trong cơn hoảng sợ.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the collateral harm of warfare: the turmoil of battle spreads beyond human combatants and disrupts the natural world. Ethically, it invites reflection on the wider consequences of violence and the suffering imposed on beings without agency in the conflict.
The narrator describes a fearsome presence or object in the battlefield—mottled like a śāla trunk—whose impact is so intense that monkeys and elephants are terrified, birds take flight in confusion, and serpents rush out in panic, conveying the chaos and dread pervading the scene.