Shloka 2
Bhārata-varṣa-varṇana
Description of Bhārata: Mountains, Rivers, and Janapadas
अनागतमत्तिक्रान्तं वर्तमानं च संजय । आचक्ष्व मे विस्तरेण हरिवर्ष तथैव च
anāgatam atikrāntaṁ vartamānaṁ ca sañjaya | ācakṣva me vistareṇa harivarṣaṁ tathaiva ca ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Sañjaya, describe to me in detail what is yet to come, what has passed, and what is now present; and likewise give a full account of Harivarṣa as well.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a ruler’s responsibility to seek clear knowledge—about consequences across time (past, present, future) and about the wider world—before forming judgments. It frames ethical governance as grounded in informed inquiry rather than impulse.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses Sañjaya and requests a detailed account: events in temporal sequence (future, past, present) and an expanded description of Harivarṣa, signaling a shift toward broader, descriptive narration.