Shloka 34
Śākadvīpa–Pramāṇa–Varṇana
Measurements and Description of Śākadvīpa
कुरुनन्दन! भरतश्रेष्ठ)! वहाँ लोकविख्यात वामन, ऐरावत, सुप्रतीक और अंजन--ये चार दिग्गज रहते हैं ।। सुप्रतीकस्तथा राजन् प्रभिन्नकरटामुख: । तस्याहं परिमाणं तु न संख्यातुमिहोत्सहे
kurunandana bharataśreṣṭha tatra lokavikhyātā vāmana airāvata supratīka añjana iti catvāro diggajāḥ tiṣṭhanti || supratīkastathā rājan prabhinnakaraṭāmukhaḥ | tasyāhaṃ parimāṇaṃ tu na saṅkhyātum ihotsahe ||
Dijo Sañjaya: «Oh deleite de los Kurus, oh el mejor de los Bhāratas: en esa región moran cuatro elefantes guardianes, famosos en el mundo—Vāmana, Airāvata, Supratīka y Añjana. Y Supratīka, oh Rey, tiene el rostro con las sienes manando en el furor del celo; no me atrevo aquí a calcular la inmensidad de su medida.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the epic’s cosmological imagination: certain beings are portrayed as vast, world-renowned guardians of the directions. Sanjaya’s admission that he cannot ‘compute’ Supratīka’s measure highlights human limitation before the immensity of cosmic order, a reminder that power and scale in the Mahābhārata extend beyond the battlefield.
Sanjaya continues his description to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, listing the four famed diggajas—Vāmana, Airāvata, Supratīka, and Añjana—associated with a particular quarter. He singles out Supratīka as being in musth (rut flowing from the temples) and says he does not dare to state or calculate his enormous size.