Shloka 1
हिरण्यपुरवर्णनम्
Description of Hiraṇyapura and the Nivātakavacas
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत उद्योगपर्वके अन्तर्गत भगवद्यानपर्वमें मातलिके द्वारा वरका खोजविषयक अद्ठानबेवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ ॥/ ९८ ॥। एकोनशततमो<थध्याय: नारदजीके द्वारा पाताललोकका प्रदर्शण नारद उवाच एतत् तु नागलोकस्य नाभिस्थाने स्थितं पुरम् पातालमिति विख्यात॑ दैत्यदानवसेवितम्
nārada uvāca | etat tu nāgalokasya nābhisthāne sthitaṃ puram | pātālam iti vikhyātaṃ daityadānavasevitam ||
নারদ বললেন—হে মাতলি! নাগলোকের নাভিস্থান, অর্থাৎ মধ্যভাগে যে নগরটি দেখা যাচ্ছে, তা ‘পাতাল’ নামে প্রসিদ্ধ। সেখানে দৈত্য ও দানবেরা বাস করে।
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily situates the listener within Mahābhārata’s moral-cosmological universe: realms are characterized by the beings who inhabit them, and knowledge of such realms (here, Pātāla within Nāgaloka) is conveyed through authoritative sages like Nārada, emphasizing discernment about environments shaped by their dominant natures.
Nārada addresses Mātali and identifies a city located in the central region of Nāgaloka, naming it Pātāla and noting that it is inhabited/visited by Daityas and Dānavas, thereby introducing the setting for the subsequent description of the netherworld.