Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
वरां वीरकरां चापि पञ्चमीं च महानदीम् | रथचित्रां ज्योतिरथां विश्वामित्रां कपिज्जलाम्
varāṁ vīrakarāṁ cāpi pañcamīṁ ca mahānadīm | rathacitrāṁ jyotirathāṁ viśvāmitrāṁ kapiñjalām ||
সঞ্জয়ে ক’লে—(তেওঁ) বৰা আৰু বীৰকৰা; লগতে পঞ্চমী আৰু মহানদী; তদুপৰি ৰথচিত্রা, জ্যোতিরথা, বিশ্বামিত্রা আৰু কপিঞ্জলা নামৰ নদীসমূহো দেখিলে।
संजय उवाच
The verse functions less as a moral injunction and more as a dharmic framing device: by naming rivers (often treated as sacred), the narrative situates the impending conflict within a landscape of sanctity and memory. It subtly reminds the listener that human action—especially war—unfolds within a world already charged with religious and ethical significance.
Sañjaya is reporting a sequence of places—here, chiefly rivers—encountered/recognized in the course of the larger Bhīṣma-parvan narration. This is part of a broader geographical catalog that maps the region and evokes the sacred topography surrounding the Kurukṣetra events.