Shloka 19
Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
रहस्यां शतकुम्भां च सरयूं च तथैव च । चर्मण्वतीं वेत्रवर्ती हस्तिसोमां दिशं तथा,गोमती, धूतपापा, महानदी वन्दना, कौशिकी, त्रिदिवा, कृत्या, निचिता, लोहितारणी, रहस्या, शतकुम्भा, सरयू, चर्मण्वती, वेत्रवती, हस्तिसोमा, दिकू, शरावती, पयोष्णी, वेणा, भीमरथी, कावेरी, चुलुका, वाणी और शतबला
sañjaya uvāca |
rahasyāṃ śatakumbhāṃ ca sarayūṃ ca tathaiva ca |
carmaṇvatīṃ vetravatīṃ hastisomāṃ diśaṃ tathā |
gomatīṃ dhūtapāpāṃ mahānadīṃ vandanāṃ kauśikīṃ tridivāṃ |
kṛtyāṃ nicitāṃ lohitāraṇīṃ rahasyāṃ śatakumbhāṃ sarayūṃ |
carmaṇvatīṃ vetravatīṃ hastisomāṃ dikūṃ śarāvatīṃ |
payoṣṇīṃ veṇāṃ bhīmarathīṃ kāverīṃ culukāṃ vāṇīṃ śatabalāṃ ca ||
Sañjaya said: He then named, in order, many sacred rivers and streams—Rahasya, Śatakumbhā, Sarayū, Carmaṇvatī, Vetravatī, Hastisomā, and others such as Gomatī, Dhūtapāpā, Mahānadī, Vandanā, Kauśikī, Tridivā, Kṛtyā, Nicitā, Lohitāraṇī, Śarāvatī, Payoṣṇī, Veṇā, Bhīmarathī, Kāverī, Culukā, Vāṇī, and Śatabalā. The recitation evokes the sanctity of the land and the purifying power traditionally associated with these waters, set against the grave moral weight of the coming war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
By invoking a wide network of sacred rivers, the passage underscores the idea of purification and the moral memory of the land—suggesting that even amid impending violence, dharma is measured against enduring sacred and ethical ideals.
Sañjaya reports a formal recitation of river-names (a catalogue of tīrthas/sacred waters). Such lists commonly function as a ritual-geographical frame, situating the events of the war within the sanctified landscape of Bhārata.