Shloka 43
Śākadvīpa–Pramāṇa–Varṇana
Measurements and Description of Śākadvīpa
विष्कम्भेण कुरुश्रेष्ठ त्रयस्त्रिंशत् तु मण्डलम् । एकोनषष्टिविष्कम्भं शीतरश्मेर्महात्मन:,कुरुश्रेष्ठ उनकी परिधि या मण्डलका विस्तार तैंतीस हजार योजन बताया गया है और महामना शीतरश्मि चन्द्रमाका वैपुल्यगत विस्तार (मोटाई) उनसठ सौ योजन है
viṣkambheṇa kuruśreṣṭha trayastriṃśat tu maṇḍalam | ekonaṣaṣṭiviṣkambhaṃ śītaraśmer mahātmanaḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: „O Bester der Kurus, der Umfang (oder die kreisförmige Ausdehnung) der Sphäre wird mit dreiunddreißigtausend Yojanas beschrieben. Und der großbeseelte Śītaraśmi — der Mond — besitzt eine Dicke von neunundfünfzig Hunderten Yojanas.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes a cosmos governed by intelligible order and proportion. By presenting precise measures of celestial bodies, it situates human conflict within a larger, structured reality—suggesting that dharma and action unfold under an overarching cosmic regularity.
Sañjaya continues describing cosmic and astronomical details to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, giving measurements of a celestial orb and specifically the Moon (Śītaraśmi). This forms part of a broader descriptive passage that frames the events of the war within a vast cosmological context.