O for Omens in Mahabharata - Mahabharata Mashup

Namaskar, 

Omens are a recurring theme in our epics and stories. In fact, we love using omens as a foreshadowing tool in storytelling. Mahabharata is no different. There are ample signs indicating the approaching doom or victory, depending on the situation. 

Let’s look at some important omens we come across in Mahabharata. 

In Adi Parva, Dhuryodhana was born from the first jar (Gandhari got impatient when Kunti delivered children first. She tore open her stomach and found a block of flesh instead of a child. Vyasa helped her cut it into a hundred pieces and stored them in jars filled with ghee). One by one, the flesh in the jars became children). Soon after birth, he brayed like a donkey, and the donkeys in the kingdom answered the call. Strong winds flew throughout, and fires erupted without a cause. 

Vidura told Dhritarastra that these were signs of destruction and that Dhuryodhana would be the cause for bringing ruin to the Kuru dynasty. In fact, Vidura even advised Dhritarastra to disown him and not consider Dhuryodhana his heir. But Dhritarastra doesn’t agree. 

In Sabha Parva, after Yudhistira lost the dice game, Duhshasana dragged Draupadi into the court by her hair. She was in her period and wearing a single cloth wrapped around her body. She still displayed her dignity even if the Kauravas acted like barbarians. Vidura repeatedly urged Dhritarastra to stop them, but the king didn’t listen to his advice. 

However, the insults by Karna, Dhuryodhana, and Duhshasana went too far. Fierce winds blew through the palace. Donkeys, jackals, and vultures cried loudly. The voices echoed inside the courtroom, making everyone shiver. Vidura reminded him it was a repeat of events from Dhuryodhana’s birth. This brought some sense to Dhritarastra, who was worried for his son’s life and began damage control by offering boons to Draupadi. 

In Udyoga Parva, we have several pages dedicated to omens. The first set is when Krishna went to Hastinapura with a peace treaty. The omens were good and bad – good wherever Krishna passed and bad elsewhere, indicating the result of his attempts. 

Later, Bhishma and Drona mentioned omens like thunderbolts striking from cloudless skies, unexpected fires, strange births, etc., urging Dhuryodhana to consider peace. 

Karna listed many ill omens to Krishna, saying he had been having nightmares about the war and knew it was inevitable. 

In Bhishma Parva, Vyasa listed countless omens to Dhritarastra and warned him that the war would destroy everything he held dear. Vyasa also gives planetary positions (we’ll see this in another post), stating that everything hints at the Kauravas losing the war to the Pandavas. 

In Shalya Parva, a few ill omens were noticed before the clash on the eighteenth day of the battle. Again, right before the famous mace duel between Dhuryodhana and Bhima, Sanjaya listed omens indicating the death of Dhuryodhana. Mysterious darkening of the sky, fierce thunderbolts, meteor showers, echoing cries of jackals with flames in their mouths, and a sudden and unexpected solar eclipse. 

Of course, there were a few good omens, too. 

In Drona Parva, Arjuna heard celestial music and felt a scented breeze caressing his face on the day he was to kill King Jayadratha. Arjuna told Satyaki that these omens meant he would be successful. 

In Karna Parva, Arjuna again sensed a fresh breeze wafting on the battlefield littered with mutilated bodies and celestial music playing around him. It indicated that he would kill Karna that day. Karna also saw omens but ill ones, predicting his end. 

The Kurukshetra War saw two untimely eclipses very close to one another. A rare event indeed! 

***

I realized I could not conclude the challenge without sharing at least a single video of NTR as Krishna. Not that this is a relevant post, but it'll have to do! This is from the movie Sri Krishna Tulabharam (1966), the scene where Satyabhama donates Krishna to Narada Muni and plans to win him back by offering wealth equivalent to his weight. However, nothing equals Krishna's weight, and he is forced to follow Narada Muni. 

I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z.

The AI images are made on Bing.