Shloka 423
अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः
Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve
न्यग्रोधमण्डलं सर्व संछन्न॑ सर्वतो5भवत् | प्रजानाथ! उस बलवान् उल्लूने
nyagrodhamaṇḍalaṃ sarvaṃ saṃchannaṃ sarvato ’bhavat | prajānātha! sa balavān ullūkaḥ yo-yo kākāḥ tasya dṛṣṭiṃ āgatāḥ, tān sarvān kṣaṇabhareṇa jaghāna | tena sa sarvo vaṭavṛkṣaḥ kākānāṃ śarīraiḥ teṣāṃ ca vividhair avayavaiḥ sarvata ācchāditaḥ abhavat |
三阇耶说道：“噢，人中之主！那榕树的广大树冠四面尽被遮蔽。那强悍的猫头鹰，凡入其目光之乌鸦，顷刻便被它杀尽；于是整株榕树周遭，尽披覆着乌鸦的尸身与四散的残肢。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses stark predatory imagery—an owl instantly slaughtering crows—to foreshadow the ruthless, night-bound violence of the Sauptika episode. Ethically, it underscores how war can slide into adharma when killing becomes swift, indiscriminate, and dehumanizing.
Sanjaya reports that a powerful owl kills every crow that comes into its sight, so that the banyan’s canopy becomes covered on all sides with the crows’ bodies and severed parts—an ominous scene setting the tone for the events of the Sauptika Parva.