Shloka 4
अध्याय ९ — दुर्योधनस्य अन्त्यावस्था, विलापः, तथा सौप्तिक-प्रतिवृत्तम्
Duryodhana’s Final Condition, Lamentation, and the Night’s Report
वृतं समन्ताद् बहुभि: श्वापदैर्घोरदर्शनै: । शालावृकगणैश्वैव भक्षयिष्यद्धिरन्तिकात्
vṛtaṃ samantād bahubhiḥ śvāpadair ghoradarśanaiḥ | śālāvṛkagaṇaiś caiva bhakṣayiṣyad dhir antikāt ||
Sañjaya said: It was surrounded on every side by many fearsome wild beasts; and packs of jackals too were close at hand, as though ready to devour it. The scene underscores the moral desolation after slaughter—where the aftermath of adharma invites predation and dread, and the battlefield becomes a place of ominous signs rather than honor.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim moral and psychological aftermath of war: when violence prevails, the world reflects it through fear, ominous signs, and the breakdown of human order—symbolized by predators gathering to feed.
Sañjaya describes a scene (the battlefield/its vicinity) encircled by terrifying wild animals and packs of jackals nearby, poised to devour what lies there—evoking the horror following the night of slaughter in the Sauptika episode.