Shloka 67
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
जम्बूखण्डविनिर्माणं पर्वोक्ते तदनन्तरम् | भूमिपर्व ततः प्रोक्ते द्वीपविस्तारकीर्तनम्,इसके आगे जम्बूखण्ड विनिर्माणपर्व है। तदनन्तर भूमिपर्व कहा गया है, जिसमें द्वीपोंके विस्तारका कीर्तन किया गया है
jambū-khaṇḍa-vinirmāṇaṁ parvokte tad-anantaram | bhūmi-parva tataḥ prokte dvīpa-vistāra-kīrtanam |
Next, the section called the “Jambū-khaṇḍa Construction” is said to be narrated. After that is declared the “Bhūmi-parvan,” in which the expanse and detailed description of the islands (continents) is recounted—signaling a shift from genealogical narrative to a cosmographical mapping of the world that frames human action within a larger ordered universe.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s method of situating human history within a larger cosmic geography: by describing the world’s structure (Jambū-khaṇḍa and the dvīpas), the text frames ethical life and dharma as operating within an ordered universe rather than in isolation.
The speaker is outlining the sequence of sections (parvans): after the narration of the Jambū-khaṇḍa’s formation comes the Bhūmi-parvan, which contains an expanded description of the dvīpas (continents/islands).