Shloka 54

Devanagari script

श्रोत्ररम्यं सुमधुरं कूजद्धिश्चात्यधिष्ठितान्‌ । सरांसि च मनोज्ञानि समन्ताज्जलचारिभि:,इन वृक्षोंपर निवास करनेवाले चकोर, मोर, भूृंगराज, तोते, कोयल, कलविंक (गौरैया- चिड़िया), हारीत (हारिल), चकवा, प्रियक, चातक तथा दूसरे नाना प्रकारके पक्षी, श्रवणसुखद मधुर शब्द बोल रहे थे। वहाँ चारों ओर जलचर जन्तुओंसे भरे हुए मनोहर सरोवर दृष्टिगोचर होते थे। जिनमें कुमुद, पुण्डरीक, कोकनद, उत्पल, कह्लार और कमल सब ओर व्याप्त थे। कादम्ब, चक्रवाक, कुरर, जलकुक्कुट, कारण्डव, प्लव, हंस, बक, मदगु तथा अन्य कितने ही जलचर पक्षी कमलोंके मकरन्दका पान करके मदसे मतवाले और हर्षसे मुग्ध हुए उन सरोवरोंमें सब ओर फैले थे

Transliteration

śrotraramyaṃ sumadhuraṃ kūjaddhiś cātyadhiṣṭhitān | sarāṃsi ca manojñāni samantāj jalacāribhiḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “All around, the birds—settled in their chosen haunts—filled the air with calls that were pleasing to the ear and exceedingly sweet. And there appeared delightful lakes on every side, thronged with creatures that move in the waters.”

Word by Word

श्रोत्ररम्यम्pleasing to the ear

सुमधुरम्very sweet

कूजद्भिःby/with (birds) cooing, warbling

चand

अत्यधिष्ठितान्thickly inhabited/occupied

सरांसिlakes, ponds

चand

मनोज्ञानिdelightful, charming

समन्तात्on all sides, all around

जलचारिभिःby/with water-dwellers (aquatic creatures/birds)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

sarāṃsi (lakes/ponds)

jalacāriṇaḥ (aquatic creatures/birds)

birds (implied by kūjaddhiḥ)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

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 śānti (quietude) and saumyatā (gentleness) through nature’s harmony—suggesting that even amid hardship (as in the forest setting of Vana Parva), the mind can be steadied by attending to what is wholesome, beautiful, and non-violent.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a forest landscape filled with melodious birds and charming lakes crowded with aquatic life, setting a serene scene within the Vana Parva’s wilderness episodes.