Shloka 32

Yuga-Lakṣaṇa and Varṣa-Pramāṇa Inquiry (युगलक्षण–वर्षप्रमाण–प्रश्न)

Devanagari script

सुकुमारी कुमारी च शीताशी वेणिका तथा । महानदी च कौरव्य तथा मणिजला नदी,कुरुनन्दन! भरतश्रेष्ठ! उस द्वीपमें सुकुमारी, कुमारी, शीताशी, वेणिका, महानदी, मणिजला तथा चक्षुर्वर्धनिका आदि पवित्र जलवाली नदियाँ बहती हैं

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | sukumārī kumārī ca śītāśī veṇikā tathā | mahānadī ca kauravya tathā maṇijalā nadī, kurunandana! bharataśreṣṭha! asmin dvīpe sukumārī, kumārī, śītāśī, veṇikā, mahānadī, maṇijalā tathā cakṣurvardhanikādayaḥ pavitrajalavāhinyo nadyo vahanti |

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „O Nachkomme der Kuru, o Freude der Kuru, o Bester der Bhāratas — auf jener Insel fließen Ströme mit heiligem Wasser: Sukumārī, Kumārī, Śītāśī, Veṇikā, Mahānadī, Maṇijalā und andere, wie Cakṣurvardhanikā.“

Word by Word

सुकुमारीSukumārī (name of a river)

कुमारीKumārī (name of a river)

चand

शीताशीŚītāśī (name of a river)

वेणिकाVeṇikā (name of a river)

तथाalso/likewise

महानदीMahānadī (lit. great river; name of a river)

चand

कौरव्यO descendant of Kuru (O Kauravya)

तथाalso/likewise

मणिजलाMaṇijalā (lit. jewel-watered; name of a river)

नदीriver

कुरुनन्दनO joy of the Kurus

भरतश्रेष्ठO best of the Bharatas

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Kauravya (addressed listener in Kuru line)

Kurunandana (addressed listener)

Bharataśreṣṭha (addressed listener)

Dvīpa (island/continent)

Sukumārī river

Kumārī river

Śītāśī river

Veṇikā river

Mahānadī river

Maṇijalā river

Cakṣurvardhanikā 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 idea of sacred order in the world through the motif of pure rivers. Even within a war-centered parva, the text recalls landscapes associated with purity and merit, implicitly affirming dharmic values such as sanctity, auspiciousness, and the moral significance attached to tīrtha-like waters.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya is describing a particular dvīpa (landmass/island) and enumerating the holy rivers that flow there—Sukumārī, Kumārī, Śītāśī, Veṇikā, Mahānadī, Maṇijalā, and others like Cakṣurvardhanikā—using honorific addresses to the listener from the Kuru-Bharata line.