Shloka 1

Yuga-Lakṣaṇa and Varṣa-Pramāṇa Inquiry (युगलक्षण–वर्षप्रमाण–प्रश्न)

Devanagari script

अपन करा बछ। 2 (भूमिपर्व) एकादशो< ध्याय: शाकद्दवीपका वर्णन ध्तराष्ट्र रवाच जम्बूखण्डस्त्वया प्रोक्तो यथावदिह संजय । विष्कम्भमस्य प्रब्रूहि परिमाणं तु तत्त्वतः

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | jambū-khaṇḍas tvayā prokto yathāvad iha sañjaya | viṣkambham asya prabrūhi parimāṇaṃ tu tattvataḥ ||

Translation

قال دِهْرِتَرَاشْتْرَة: «يا سنجيا، لقد وصفتَ لي جمبو-خَنْدَة وصفًا صحيحًا. فحدّثني الآن بدقّة—صدقًا وبتمام المقادير—عن عرضها وأبعادها الحقيقية.»

Word by Word

• {'dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca': 'Dhṛtarāṣṭra said', 'jambū-khaṇḍaḥ': 'Jambū-khaṇḍa

• the central continental division of the world in Purāṇic/epic cosmography', 'tvayā': 'by you', 'proktaḥ': 'told, described', 'yathāvat': 'as it truly is

• correctly, in due order', 'iha': 'here (in this context/discourse)', 'sañjaya': 'Sañjaya (the narrator to the blind king)', 'viṣkambhaḥ': 'breadth, diameter, extent across', 'asya': 'of this (Jambū-khaṇḍa)', 'prabrūhi': 'tell, explain (imperative)', 'parimāṇam': 'measure, dimension, magnitude', 'tu': 'indeed, now, but (emphatic/transition)', 'tattvataḥ': 'in truth

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Sañjaya
• Jambū-khaṇḍa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse models disciplined inquiry: a ruler seeks not vague praise or poetic description but exact, truthful measurement (tattvataḥ). It underscores the ethical value of accuracy and truth in narration and counsel.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, listening to Sañjaya’s account, acknowledges that Jambū-khaṇḍa has been described properly and now requests further detail—specifically its breadth (viṣkambha) and precise dimensions (parimāṇa).