Shloka 32
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
उलूकपक्षिध्वनिभिद्देवतायतनैर्व॒॑तम् । लोहघण्टापरिष्कारं श्वयूथपरिवारितम्,वहाँ कई देवालय थे, जिनके भीतर उल्लू पक्षीकी आवाज गूँजती रहती थी। वहाँके घरोंको लोहेकी घंटियोंसे सजाया गया था और झुंड-के-झुंड कुत्ते उन घरोंको घेरे हुए थे
ulūkapakṣi-dhvanibhir devatāyatanair vṛtam | loha-ghaṇṭā-pariṣkāraṃ śva-yūtha-parivāritam ||
Bhishma nói: “Xung quanh là những miếu thờ thần linh, bên trong tiếng cú và các loài chim khác vọng mãi không dứt. Nhà cửa nơi ấy được trang trí bằng chuông sắt, và từng bầy chó đứng vây quanh khắp phía.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse evokes a moral-psychological atmosphere: when sacred places and homes are marked by unsettling signs (owl-cries, roaming packs of dogs), it suggests a decline in auspicious order and a warning to reflect on conduct (dharma) and the state of society.
Bhishma is describing a locality filled with deity-shrines where eerie bird-calls echo; houses are fitted with iron bells, and packs of dogs surround the area—details that create a foreboding, ominous setting.