Bhishma Parva Adhyaya 12 Shloka 13 - Mahabharata | Bengali | Vedapath

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Shloka 13

Śākadvīpa–Pramāṇa–Varṇana

Measurements and Description of Śākadvīpa

Devanagari script

चतुर्थ: पुष्पवान्‌ नाम पञ्चमस्तु कुशेशय: । षष्ठो हरिगिरिराम षडेते पर्वतोत्तमा:

Transliteration

caturthaḥ puṣpavān nāma pañcamas tu kuśeśayaḥ | ṣaṣṭho harigirirāma ṣaḍete parvatottamāḥ | tṛtīyaṃ surathākāraṃ caturthaṃ kambalaṃ smṛtam | dhṛtimat pañcamaṃ varṣa ṣaṣṭhaṃ varṣa prabhākaram |

Translation

সঞ্জয় বললেন—চতুর্থ পর্বত ‘পুষ্পবান’, পঞ্চম ‘কুশেশয়’, এবং ষষ্ঠ ‘হরিগিরি’; এই ছয়টি উৎকৃষ্ট পর্বত। তদ্রূপ তৃতীয় বর্ষ ‘সুরথাকার’, চতুর্থ ‘কম্বল’, পঞ্চম ‘ধৃতিমৎ’, এবং ষষ্ঠ বর্ষ ‘প্রভাকর’ নামে স্মৃত।

Word by Word

चतुर्थःthe fourth

पुष्पवान्Puṣpavān (name)

नामby name / named

पञ्चमःthe fifth

तुand/but

कुशेशयःKuśeśaya (name)

षष्ठःthe sixth

हरिगिरिःHarigiri (name; lit. 'Viṣṇu-mountain')

इमेthese

षट्six

एतेthese

पर्वतmountains

उत्तमाःexcellent / best

तृतीयम्the third (one)

सुरथाकारम्Surathākāra (name; lit. 'maker of good chariots')

चand

चतुर्थम्the fourth (one)

कम्बलम्Kambala (name)

स्मृतम्is remembered / is said to be

धृतिमत्Dhṛtimat (name; 'possessing fortitude')

पञ्चमम्the fifth (one)

वर्षम्region/varṣa (division of land)

षष्ठम्the sixth (one)

वर्षम्region/varṣa

प्रभाकरम्Prabhākara (name; 'maker of light' / 'sun')

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Puṣpavān

Kuśeśaya

Harigirirāma

Surathākāra

Kambala

Dhṛtimat

Prabhākara

parvatottamāḥ (excellent mountains)

varṣa (geographical region)

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 is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive: it models the epic’s concern for ordered knowledge—naming and classifying mountains and regions—supporting the larger narrative by situating events within a vast, structured world.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya continues an enumeration, listing the names of certain ‘excellent mountains’ and then naming successive varṣas (regions), giving a catalog-like geographical/cosmographical description within Bhīṣma Parva.