Shloka 143

युद्धसंग्रहः

Kurukṣetra Campaign in Summary

Devanagari script

स नगो वेश्मसंकीर्णो देवलोक इवाबभौ । वीरवर! उस पर्वतपर प्रण्यानुष्ठानके लिये बहुत-से गृह और आश्रम बने थे, जिनमें पुण्यात्मा पुरुष निवास करते थे। रैवतक पर्वतके उस महोत्सवमें वृष्णिवंशी वीरोंका विहार- स्थल बना हुआ था। वह गिरिप्रदेश बहुसंख्यक गृहोंसे व्याप्त होनेके कारण देवलोकके समान शोभा पाता था

Transliteration

sa nagaḥ veśma-saṅkīrṇo devaloka ivābabhau |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: That mountain, crowded with many dwellings, shone like the world of the gods. Upon it, numerous houses and hermitages had been established for the performance of sacred observances, inhabited by men of merit. In that great festival on Mount Raivataka, it became a place of recreation for the heroic Vṛṣṇi warriors; and because the whole hillside was filled with countless residences, the region appeared as splendid as heaven—suggesting how communal piety and disciplined celebration can transform a worldly landscape into a sanctified space.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'saḥ', 'definition': 'he/that (referring to the mountain)'}, {'term': 'nagaḥ', 'definition': 'mountain'}, {'term': 'veśma', 'definition': 'house, dwelling'}, {'term': 'saṅkīrṇa', 'definition': 'crowded, filled, thronged'}, {'term': 'devalokaḥ', 'definition': 'the world/realm of the gods

• heaven'}, {'term': 'iva', 'definition': 'like, as if'}, {'term': 'ababhau', 'definition': 'shone, appeared splendid (perfect of √bhā)'}, {'term': 'āśrama', 'definition': 'hermitage

• a place of disciplined religious life'}, {'term': 'puṇyātmā', 'definition': 'virtuous-souled, meritorious'}, {'term': 'vr̥ṣṇivaṃśa / vr̥ṣṇayaḥ', 'definition': 'the Vṛṣṇi lineage/clan (Kṛṣṇa’s people)'}, {'term': 'vihāra-sthala', 'definition': 'place of recreation/sojourn'}, {'term': 'mahotsava', 'definition': 'great festival'}, {'term': 'raivataka', 'definition': 'Raivataka (name of the mountain)'}]

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Raivataka mountain
• Devaloka (heaven)
• Vṛṣṇi warriors
• houses (veśma)
• hermitages (āśrama)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how righteous conduct and sacred observances (performed in āśramas by puṇyātmans) can sanctify a place, making it resemble ‘devaloka’. It implicitly commends disciplined celebration—festivity aligned with dharma—rather than indulgence divorced from spiritual purpose.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes Mount Raivataka during a great festival: the mountain is packed with houses and hermitages for religious observances, inhabited by virtuous people, and it serves as a leisure-ground for the heroic Vṛṣṇis; the crowded, radiant scene is compared to heaven.