Shloka 23
Yuga-Lakṣaṇa and Varṣa-Pramāṇa Inquiry (युगलक्षण–वर्षप्रमाण–प्रश्न)
ततः परं कौरवेन्द्र दुर्गशैलो महोदय: । केसर: केसरयुतो यतो वात: प्रवर्तते,कौरवराज! श्यामगिरिके बाद बहुत ऊँचा दुर्ग शैल है। उसके बाद केसर पर्वत है, जहाँसे चली हुई वायु केसरकी सुगन्ध लिये बहती है
tataḥ paraṃ kauravendra durgaśailo mahodayaḥ | kesaraḥ kesarayuto yato vātaḥ pravartate |
قال سنجيا: «ثم بعد ذلك، يا سيد الكورو، يرتفع جبل شاهق عسير المسالك، كأنه حصنٌ من صخر عظيم. وبعده يأتي جبل كيسارا، الغنيّ بالزعفران؛ ومن هناك تهبّ الرياح حاملةً عبير الزعفران.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive: it frames the battlefield setting through vivid geography and sensory detail (the saffron-scented wind), underscoring how the environment itself becomes part of the war’s solemn atmosphere.
Sañjaya continues reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describing the terrain beyond a lofty, fortress-like mountain and then the Kesara mountain, noted for saffron and the fragrant wind that blows from it—part of the broader depiction of the Kurukṣetra region and its surroundings.