Brihadyatra 31: adhyāyaḥ 31

Chapter 31: The Army, Wind, Rain, Meteors, Earthquakes, Thunder, and Twilight

An army whose warriors hate their foremost leaders, are devoid of splendor, impure, and have their best elephants dead,

beset by portents and inversions of nature, afflicted with grief, quickly falls under the enemy's control.

'In battle, by the grace of the gods and twice-born, we shall conquer the enemy's force swiftly, beyond doubt'—

the king in whose army such talk of the people prevails, even if his force is small, slays an enemy of abundant strength.

A wind that hurls up shrubs, dust, leaves, and birds, and destroys parasols and banner-tips,

foul-smelling, causing the dried residue of elephants' rutting fluid to flake off, accompanied by whirlwinds and showers of clods—

gives undesirable results to the traveler; auspicious is one whose motion agrees with the expedition,

gladdening, fragrant, moving clockwise, and pleasant, granting success.

A broad, thick, following, smooth collection of clouds that resembles trees, mountains, cities, or desired objects and animals,

stationed on both flanks or behind, brings victory; any other at the time of the king's departure is not auspicious.

Those that are varied like despised beasts and piśācas, shaped like raw flesh and wild beasts, harsh,

hurling lightning, or raining blood and stones—people say they bring swift danger to the army.

copiously raining, or blood-red, accompanied by Indra's bow, emitting harsh, rough noises,

having diverse shapes of battle-gear, clouds seen in the sky portend battle.

Rain occurring in an unseasonal period brings fear to the army within seven days; / some praise an expedition undertaken when black clouds have risen.

When the clouds are multi-coloured, there is slaughter of the army commander; when yellow, sickness;

and when warm, there is hunger; when [such] clouds appear, destruction comes before long.

Stationed on the right, it slays the mounts; otherwise, it slays the women;

standing in the form of a cage all around, it destroys the commander of the army.

Indra's bow, when clockwise, unbroken, brightly radiant, dense, and expansive, is auspicious;

a roar of thunder resembling the emptying of water-jars or an agitated ocean brings victory.

Slender, long-hanging, prolonged lightning, devoid of the rumble of dense clouds, brings victory;

and a thunderbolt is auspicious if its crash is produced not too close and is heard to fall clockwise.

A meteor that strikes the sun and moon in the ascendant harms the citizens; it destroys the marcher's citizens and planets.

A meteor is auspicious for the marcher if it is full or in a fixed lunar mansion; otherwise, smoky or dark-red, it is not desired;

it slays the king, citizens, provincials, servants, lotus-dwellers, thieves, and twice-born,

in order according to the periods of time beginning from dawn, and in the quarter where the rumble of the earth occurs.

Twilight is auspicious when it resounds with peaceful birds and beasts, is glossy, and has gentle breezes;

covered in dust, it brings ruin to the realm, or when rough, or resembling blood.

Chapter 32: Portents