Shloka 5.1.5
समुद्रलङ्घनारम्भः — Commencement of the Ocean-Crossing
नीललोहितमांजिष्ठपत्रवर्णैः सितासितैः।स्वभावविहितैश्चित्रैर्धातुभिः समलङ्कृतम्।।।।कामरूपिभिराविष्टमभीक्ष्णं सपरिच्छदैः।यक्षकिन्नरगन्धर्वैर्देवकल्पैश्च पन्नगैः।।।।
nīlalohitamāñjiṣṭhapatravarṇaiḥ sitāsitaiḥ |
svabhāvavihitaiś citrair dhātubhiḥ samalaṅkṛtam ||
kāmarūpibhir āviṣṭam abhīkṣṇaṃ saparicchadaiḥ |
yakṣakinnaragandharvair devakalpaiś ca pannagaiḥ ||
That mountain was adorned with wondrous minerals in their natural hues—blue, red, yellow, leaf-green, and also white and black. It was often frequented by yakṣas, kinnaras, gandharvas, and nāgas, attended by their retinues—beings able to assume forms at will, radiant like the gods.
The mountain was as though decorated with mineral rocks of varied colours like blue, red, yellow and green as well as black and white৷৷It was frequently visited by yakshas, kinneras, gandharvas and nagas surrounded by their retinue, capable of assuming any form at their free will rivalling gods and nagas in splendour.
Dharma is reverence for a world ordered and inhabited by many grades of beings; nature and the unseen communities within it are portrayed as worthy of recognition, not exploitation.
Before/around the leap episode, the text describes the mountain landscape—its mineral beauty and the presence of celestial and semi-divine beings.
Not a single character’s virtue; rather, the epic’s worldview: harmony between the human quest and a cosmos populated by diverse beings.