Shloka 8
गिरय: सागरा नद्यस्तथैवाप्सरसां गणा: । ग्रहा: संवत्सराश्वैव अयनान्यूतवस्तथा
giriyaḥ sāgarā nadyas tathaivāpsarasāṃ gaṇāḥ | grahāḥ saṃvatsarāś caiva ayanāny ṛtavas tathā, bharataśreṣṭha ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O best of the Bharatas, mountains, oceans, and rivers—likewise the hosts of Apsarases—together with the planets, the years, the solstitial courses (ayanas), and the seasons: all these were seen gathered there.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that dharma is not merely a private or social matter; it is embedded in the cosmic order. At the epic’s end, the universe itself—time cycles, celestial bodies, and natural realms—appears as a witness, implying that moral truth is ultimately accountable to a larger, impartial order.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a vast gathering in the Svargarohana context, where not only divine beings but also cosmic and natural constituents (mountains, oceans, rivers, Apsarases, planets, years, ayanas, seasons) are seen assembled, heightening the sense that the concluding events are of universal significance.