Shloka 2

Adhyāya 6: Pañca-mahābhūta–guṇa-nirdeśa and Sudarśana-dvīpa

Five Elements, Sensory Qualities, and a Cosmographic Island

Devanagari script

यावान्‌ भूम्यवकाशो<यं दृश्यते शशलक्षणे । तस्य प्रमाण प्रब्रूहि ततो वक्ष्यसि पिप्पलम्‌,चन्द्रमाके शश-चिह्ममें भूमिका जितना अवकाश दृष्टिगोचर होता है, उसका प्रमाण बताओ। तत्पश्चात्‌ पिप्पलस्थानका वर्णन करना

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca |

yāvān bhūmy-avakāśo 'yaṃ dṛśyate śaśa-lakṣaṇe |

tasya pramāṇaṃ prabrūhi tato vakṣyasi pippalam ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O you marked by the hare (i.e., O Moon), tell me the measure of this expanse of space above the earth that is visible to the eye. After stating its extent, then describe to me the pippala (sacred fig) location.”

Word by Word

यावान्as great as; as much as

भूमि-अवकाशःspace/extent of the earth (earth-space)

अयम्this

दृश्यतेis seen; appears

शश-लक्षणेin/at the moon marked with a hare (hare-marked orb)

तस्यof that; its

प्रमाणम्measure; extent; proof

प्रब्रूहिtell; declare

ततःthen; thereafter

वक्ष्यसिyou will say; you will describe

पिप्पलम्the pippala (sacred fig tree)

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Candra (the Moon, implied by śaśa-lakṣaṇa)

Pippala (sacred fig / pippala-place)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds disciplined inquiry (praśna) and the desire for precise knowledge (pramāṇa) before proceeding to sacred description, reflecting a classical ideal: understanding the measure and order of the world as a basis for meaningful narration about holy places and symbols.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses the Moon (identified by the hare-mark) and asks it to quantify the visible expanse above the earth; once that is explained, he requests a description of the pippala-related sacred locus.