Shloka 68
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
तीर्थानां चैव पुण्यानां देशानां चैव कीर्तनम् । नदीनां पर्वतानां च वनानां सागरस्य च,लोकपावन तीर्थों, देशों, नदियों, पर्वतों, वनों और समुद्रका भी इसमें वर्णन किया गया है
tīrthānāṁ caiva puṇyānāṁ deśānāṁ caiva kīrtanam | nadīnāṁ parvatānāṁ ca vanānāṁ sāgarasya ca ||
Contiene también un relato de los lugares de peregrinación sagrada y de otros sitios santos, y una descripción de las regiones—con sus ríos, montañas, bosques y el océano. Así, la obra ofrece un recorrido purificador por la tierra y su geografía santificante, guiando al oyente hacia el mérito y la reverencia por los lugares sagrados.
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s role as a world-purifying guide: by recounting holy tīrthas and the sacred landscape (lands, rivers, mountains, forests, ocean), it encourages reverence for sanctifying places and the pursuit of puṇya through remembrance and pilgrimage-oriented dharma.
In the opening catalog of contents (Anukramaṇikā/Parva-saṅgraha), the text lists what the Mahābhārata includes. Here it specifies that descriptions of sacred tīrthas and the broader geography—regions and natural features—are among the subjects narrated in the epic.