Shloka 19

अर्जुनस्य इन्द्रकीलगमनम् तथा शक्रसाक्षात्कारः

Arjuna’s journey to Indrakīla and encounter with Indra

Devanagari script

तत्रापश्यद्‌ ट्रुमान्‌ फुल्लान्‌ विहगैर्वल्गुनादितान्‌ | नदीश्व विपुलावर्ता वैदूर्यविमलप्रभा:,वहाँ उन्होंने फूलोंसे सुशोभित बहुत-से वृक्ष देखे, जो पक्षियोंके मधुर शब्दसे गुंजायमान हो रहे थे। उन्होंने वैदूर्यमणिके समान स्वच्छ जलसे भरी हुई शोभामयी कितनी ही नदियाँ देखीं, जिनमें बहुत-सी भँवरें उठ रही थीं

Transliteration

tatrāpaśyad drumān phullān vihagair valgunāditān | nadīś ca vipulāvartā vaidūryavimalaprabhāḥ ||

Translation

There he beheld trees in full bloom, resonant with the sweet calls of birds. He also saw many lovely rivers—clear and lustrous like the pure radiance of a vaidūrya gem—whose broad currents formed numerous swirling eddies, evoking the serene abundance of the forest world through which the travelers were passing.

Word by Word

• [{'sanskrit': 'tatra', 'meaning': 'there

• in that place'}, {'sanskrit': 'apaśyat', 'meaning': 'he saw

• beheld'}, {'sanskrit': 'drumān', 'meaning': 'trees'}, {'sanskrit': 'phullān', 'meaning': 'in bloom

• blossoming'}, {'sanskrit': 'vihagaiḥ', 'meaning': 'by birds'}, {'sanskrit': 'valgu-nāditān', 'meaning': 'filled with sweet sounds/calls (valgu = charming

• nādita = sounded)'}, {'sanskrit': 'nadīḥ', 'meaning': 'rivers'}, {'sanskrit': 'vipula-āvartāḥ', 'meaning': 'having large eddies/whirlpools

• with broad swirling currents'}, {'sanskrit': 'vaidūrya', 'meaning': 'vaidūrya gem (cat’s-eye/beryl-like jewel)

• used as a simile for clarity and sheen'}, {'sanskrit': 'vimala-prabhāḥ', 'meaning': 'of spotless/pure radiance

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• trees (druma)
• birds (vihaga)
• rivers (nadī)
• vaidūrya gem (vaidūrya-maṇi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds a Mahābhārata motif: even amid hardship and wandering, one can perceive order, beauty, and purity in nature. Such attentive seeing steadies the mind and supports endurance and right conduct during exile.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates a travel scene in the forest: the travelers observe blossoming trees alive with birdsong and clear, gem-like rivers with strong swirling currents, emphasizing the vivid landscape of the Vana Parva journey.