ततः प्रयाते सहसा भारद्वाजे महारथे ॥
अन्तर्नादेन घोरेण वसुधा समकम्पत ॥
ततस् तुमुलम् आकाशम् आवृणोत् सदिवाकरम् ॥
वातोद्धूतं रजस् तीव्रं कौशेयनिकरोपमम् ॥
अनभ्रे प्रववर्ष द्यौर् मांसास्थिरुधिराण्य् उत ॥
गृध्राः श्येना बडाः कङ्का वायसाश् च सहस्रशः ॥
उपर्य् उपरि सेनां ते तदा पर्यपतन् नृप ॥
गोमायवश् च प्राक्रोशन् भयदान् दारुणान् रवान् ॥
अकार्षुर् अपसव्यं च बहुशः पृतनां तव ॥
चिखादिषन्तो मांसानि पिपासन्तश् च शोणितम् ॥
tataḥ prayāte sahasā bhāradvāje mahārathe ||
antarnādena ghoreṇa vasudhā samakampata ||
tatas tumulam ākāśam āvṛṇot sadivākaram ||
vātoddhūtaṃ rajas tīvraṃ kauśeyanikaropamam ||
anabhre pravavarṣa dyaur māṃsāsthirudhirāṇy uta ||
gṛdhrāḥ śyenā baḍāḥ kaṅkā vāyasāś ca sahasraśaḥ ||
upary upari senāṃ te tadā paryapatan nṛpa ||
gomāyavaś ca prākrośan bhayadān dāruṇān ravān ||
akārṣur apasavyaṃ ca bahuśaḥ pṛtanāṃ tava ||
cikhādiṣanto māṃsāni pipāsantaś ca śoṇitam ||
Then, when the son of Bharadvaja [Drona], the great chariot-warrior, surged forward, the earth shook with a terrible, muffled rumble. Swirling dust, whipped up by the wind, thick as a bolt of silk, shrouded the sky together with the sun. Though the sky was cloudless, the firmament rained down flesh, bones, and blood. Vultures, hawks, herons, ospreys, and crows by the thousands, and jackals, raised a terrifying, fierce howling and repeatedly circled your army from the left [in an ominous circuit].
dce12a5c5ef3 · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
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Nature itself rises up against the slaughter about to unfold: the earth trembles, blood rains from a clear sky, vultures and jackals circle counter-sunwise -- an ominous circuit. These omens are the voice of creation itself, denouncing the wrong of this war before the first blood is shed. It is telling that the ominous circling is made around "your army" -- the Kaurava side: nature points to where the guilt lies. The verse teaches that lawlessness does not go unnoticed by the very order of things; that omens are a merciful warning, granting a last chance to turn back; and that an army marching for a wrong cause under a rain of blood and the cawing of crows is itself already surrounded by the signs of its coming ruin.