Shloka 19

उत्पातवर्णनम् (Utpāta-varṇanam) — Catalogue of Portents

Devanagari script

सर्वसस्यपरिच्छन्ना पृथिवी सस्यमालिनी । पज्चशीर्षा यवाशक्षापि शतशीर्षाश्ष शालय:,(इसका प्रभाव खेतीपर अनुकूल पड़ा है) पृथ्वी सब प्रकारके अनाजके पौधोंसे आच्छादित है, शस्यकी मालाओंसे अलंकृत है, जौमें पाँच-पाँच और जड़हन धानमें सौ-सौ बालियाँ लग रही हैं

Transliteration

sarvasasyaparicchannā pṛthivī sasyamālinī | pañcaśīrṣā yavāḥ śaṣkā api śataśīrṣāś ca śālayaḥ ||

Translation

ব্যাস বললেন—পৃথিবী সর্বপ্রকার শস্যে আচ্ছাদিত ছিল, যেন শস্য-মালায় ভূষিতা। যবের একেকটি ডাঁটায় পাঁচটি করে শীষ, আর ধানের গাছে শত শত শীষ ধরেছিল।

Word by Word

सर्वसस्यपरिच्छन्नाcovered all over with every kind of crop

पृथिवीthe earth

सस्यमालिनीadorned with garlands/rows of crops

पञ्चशीर्षाःhaving five heads/ears each

यवाःbarleys

षष्टिकाःa kind of rice (ṣaṣṭika, 60-day rice)

अपिalso/even

शतशीर्षाःhaving a hundred heads/ears each

चand

शालयःrice plants (śāli paddy)

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Pṛthivī (Earth)

yava (barley)

śāli (rice/paddy)

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 highlights an ideal of abundance where the natural world supports human life; such fertility is traditionally linked to right order (dharma) and the welfare of society, implying that prosperity and ethical governance are interconnected.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa describes a remarkable condition of the land: the earth is densely covered with crops, with unusually prolific barley and rice, indicating an exceptionally favorable agricultural season and a broader atmosphere of extraordinary natural signs.