Shloka 23

Yuga-Lakṣaṇa and Varṣa-Pramāṇa Inquiry (युगलक्षण–वर्षप्रमाण–प्रश्न)

Devanagari script

ततः परं कौरवेन्द्र दुर्गशैलो महोदय: । केसर: केसरयुतो यतो वात: प्रवर्तते,कौरवराज! श्यामगिरिके बाद बहुत ऊँचा दुर्ग शैल है। उसके बाद केसर पर्वत है, जहाँसे चली हुई वायु केसरकी सुगन्ध लिये बहती है

Transliteration

tataḥ paraṃ kauravendra durgaśailo mahodayaḥ | kesaraḥ kesarayuto yato vātaḥ pravartate |

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Beyond that, O lord of the Kurus, rises a lofty, formidable mountain-fort. After it is the Kesara mountain, rich with saffron, from where the wind blows forth carrying the fragrance of saffron.”

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)

• परम्: further, beyond
• परम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)

• कौरवेन्द्र: O lord of the Kurus
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौरवेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• दुर्ग-शैलः: a hard-to-access mountain
• दुर्ग-शैलः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्गशैल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महोदयः: very lofty / greatly rising
• महोदयः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महोदय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• केसरः: Kesar (name of a mountain)
• केसरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: केसर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• केसर-युतः: endowed with saffron / having kesara
• केसर-युतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युत (कृदन्त; √युज्/युज्-सम्बन्धे/योगे)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यतः: from where
• यतः: Apadana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतः (यद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)

• वातः: wind
• वातः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रवर्तते: sets forth, blows, proceeds
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र√वृत् (वर्तते)
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Atmanepada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kauravendra (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• Durgaśaila (mountain/fort-like peak)
• Kesara (mountain)
• Vāta (wind)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive: it frames the battlefield setting through vivid geography and sensory detail (the saffron-scented wind), underscoring how the environment itself becomes part of the war’s solemn atmosphere.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya continues reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describing the terrain beyond a lofty, fortress-like mountain and then the Kesara mountain, noted for saffron and the fragrant wind that blows from it—part of the broader depiction of the Kurukṣetra region and its surroundings.