Shloka 9
प्रासादशतसम्बाध॑ महेन्द्रपुरसंनिभम् । नदीषु वनखण्डेषु वापीपल्वलसानुषु । काननेषु च रम्येषु विजहुर्मुदिता जना:,सैकड़ों महलोंसे संयुक्त वह पुरी देवराज इन्द्रकी अमरावतीके समान शोभा पाती थी। वहाँके लोग नदियों, वनखण्डों, बावलियों, छोटे-छोटे जलाशयों, पर्वतशिखरों तथा रमणीय काननोंमें प्रसन्नतापूर्वक विहार करते थे
prāsādaśatasambādhaṃ mahendrapurasaṃnibham | nadīṣu vanakhaṇḍeṣu vāpīpalvalasānuṣu | kānaneṣu ca ramyeṣu vijahur muditā janāḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: The city, crowded with hundreds of palaces, shone like Mahendra’s own capital. There the people, joyful at heart, spent their time in recreation—by rivers, in forest tracts, near wells and small ponds, upon slopes and uplands, and in delightful groves—depicting a civic life ordered enough to allow prosperity, leisure, and contentment.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse implicitly links social well-being to an ordered, prosperous civic life: when a community is stable and flourishing, people can enjoy nature and recreation without fear—suggesting that good governance and collective dharma create the conditions for contentment.
Vaiśaṃpāyana is describing a magnificent city—packed with palaces and likened to Indra’s capital—where the inhabitants happily roam and enjoy rivers, forests, wells, ponds, slopes, and pleasant groves.