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,मृग (पशु) और पक्षी भयंकर शब्द कर रहे हैं। प्रदोषकालमें प्रमुख हाथियों और घोड़ोंके समुदायमें बड़ी भयानक आकृतियाँ प्रकट होती हैं। इसी प्रकार अग्निदेव भी नाना प्रकारके भयजनक वर्णों (रंगों)-को धारण करते हैं
mṛgāḥ śakuntāś ca vadanti ghoraṁ hasty-aśva-mukhyeṣu niśā-mukheṣu | ghorāṇi rūpāṇi tathaiva cāgni-varṇān bahūn puṣyati ghora-rūpān ||
Muông thú và chim chóc đang kêu lên những tiếng rợn người. Lúc chạng vạng, giữa bầy voi và ngựa tinh nhuệ, người ta thấy hiện ra những hình bóng ghê gớm. Cũng vậy, ngọn lửa mang nhiều sắc màu dữ, biến hiện những dáng vẻ báo điềm chẳng lành.
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.