Shloka 23

Draupadī’s Instruction on Marital Conduct and Household Discipline (चित्तग्रहण-उपदेश)

Devanagari script

चर्मण्वती मही चैव मेध्या मेधातिथिस्तदा । ताम्रवती वेत्रवती नद्यस्तिस्रो5<थ कौशिकी

Transliteration

Carmaṇvatī mahī caiva medhyā Medhātithis tadā | Tāmravatī Vetravatī nadyas tisro 'tha Kauśikī ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: “There were also the rivers Carmaṇvatī and Mahī; and then Medhyā and Medhātithi. Likewise Tāmravatī and Vetravatī—three rivers—and then the Kauśikī as well.”

Word by Word

चर्मण्वतीthe river Carmanvatī

महीthe river Mahī

चand

एवindeed/also

मेध्याthe river Medhyā

मेधातिथिःMedhātithi (name)

तदाthen/at that time

ताम्रवतीthe river Tāmravātī

वेत्रवतीthe river Vetravatī

नद्यःrivers

तिस्रःthree

अथthen/and next

कौशिकीthe river Kauśikī

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

Carmaṇvatī (river)

Mahī (river)

Medhyā (river)

Medhātithi (name listed among rivers)

Tāmravatī (river)

Vetravatī (river)

Kauśikī (river)

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 reinforces the Mahābhārata’s tirtha-oriented ethic: rivers are not merely physical features but carriers of purity, memory, and dharmic culture; naming them preserves a sacred map that guides righteous travel, ritual cleansing, and reverence for the land.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya continues a sequential listing of rivers—Carmaṇvatī, Mahī, Medhyā, Medhātithi, Tāmravatī, Vetravatī, and Kauśikī—within a broader descriptive catalogue typical of Vana Parva’s pilgrimage and sacred-geography sections.