Shloka 31

Devanagari script

सुनसां तमसां दासीं वसामन्यां वराणसीम्‌ | नीलां घृतवतीं चैव पर्णाशां च महानदीम्‌,सुनसा, तमसा, दासी, वसा, वराणसी, नीला, घृतवती, महानदी पर्णाशा, मानवी, वृषभा, ब्रह्ममेध्या, बृहद्धनि, राजन! ये तथा और भी बहुत-सी नदियाँ हैं

Transliteration

sūnasāṃ tamasāṃ dāsīṃ vasām anyāṃ varāṇasīm | nīlāṃ ghṛtavatīṃ caiva parṇāśāṃ ca mahānadīm | mānavīṃ vṛṣabhāṃ brahmamedhyāṃ bṛhaddhanīm | rājan ye tathā anyāś ca bahvyo nadyaḥ ||

Translation

قال سَنجايا: «أيها الملك، هناك أيضًا هذه الأنهار—سُونَسا (Sūnasā)، تَمَسا (Tamasā)، داسي (Dāsī)، وَسا (Vasā)، وڤرَانَسي (Varāṇasī)؛ وكذلك نيلا (Nīlā)، غِرتَڤتي (Ghṛtavatī)، پَرناشا (Parṇāśā)، والنهر العظيم ماهاندي (Mahānadī)؛ وأيضًا مانَڤي (Mānavī)، ڤرِشَبها (Vṛṣabhā)، برهمَميڌيا (Brahmamedhyā)، وبريهاددهني (Bṛhaddhanī)—مع أنهار كثيرة أخرى كذلك.»

Word by Word

सुनसाम्Sunasā (river-name), (as) objects mentioned

तमसाम्Tamasā (river-name)

दासीम्Dāsī (river-name)

वसाम्Vasā (river-name)

अन्याम्another

वराणसीम्Varāṇasī (river-name / city-name used as river-name here)

नीलाम्Nīlā (river-name)

घृतवतीम्Ghṛtavatī (river-name)

चand

एवindeed/also

पर्णाशाम्Parṇāśā (river-name)

चand

महानदीम्Mahānadī (the great river; river-name)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Dhritarashtra (addressed as rājan)

Sūnasā (river)

Tamasā (river)

Dāsī (river)

Vasā (river)

Varāṇasī (river/place-name used as river-name here)

Nīlā (river)

Ghṛtavatī (river)

Parṇāśā (river)

Mahānadī (river)

Mānavī (river)

Vṛṣabhā (river)

Brahmamedhyā (river)

Bṛhaddhanī (river)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the epic’s sense of totality: the war’s significance is not local but pan-regional. By naming rivers—symbols of land, sustenance, and continuity—the narrative implies that political and ethical breakdown at the center (the Kuru court) reverberates across the whole world that depends on ordered kingship (rājadharma).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya continues a descriptive catalogue, reporting to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra a long list of rivers (and by implication regions) associated with the assembled forces and the vast theatre of events. The enumeration functions as a geographic sweep, amplifying the scale and gravity of the impending battle.