Shloka 23
Duryodhana’s Śaraṇāgati and the Pāṇḍavas’ Resolve
Gandharva Encounter
संतानकवनै: फुल्लैः करवीरवनैरपि । पारिजातवनैश्वलैव जपाशोकवनैस्तथा,वहाँ कहीं फूलोंसे भरे हुए कल्पवृक्षके वन और कहीं कनेरके कानन सुशोभित होते थे। कहीं पारिजातके वन थे तो कहीं जपा और अशोकके उपवन शोभा पाते थे। कहीं कदम्ब नामक वृक्षोंके समूह लहलहा रहे थे तो कहीं दिव्य मृगगण विचर रहे थे। सब ओर दिव्य पक्षियोंके समुदाय कलरव कर रहे थे। इन सबसे उस श्वेत पर्वतकी शोभा बहुत बढ़ गयी थी
santānakavanaiḥ phullaiḥ karavīravanair api | pārijātavanaiś caiva japāśokavanaiḥ tathā ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “That region was adorned in many ways—here with groves of blossoming santānaka trees, there with thickets of karavīra; in some places with pārijāta woods, and elsewhere with gardens of japā and aśoka. By such divine vegetation the splendour of the white mountain was greatly enhanced.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily conveys an ethical-aesthetic idea: environments marked by auspicious, orderly beauty elevate the mind toward serenity and reverence, supporting dharmic reflection rather than agitation.
Mārkaṇḍeya is describing a wondrous landscape—groves of various flowering and celestial trees—emphasizing the extraordinary splendour of the (so-called) white mountain region.