Shloka 18

Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam

Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants

Devanagari script

गोमती धूतपापां च वन्दनां च महानदीम्‌ । कौशिकीं त्रिदिवां कृत्यां निचितां लोहितारणीम्‌,गोमती, धूतपापा, महानदी वन्दना, कौशिकी, त्रिदिवा, कृत्या, निचिता, लोहितारणी, रहस्या, शतकुम्भा, सरयू, चर्मण्वती, वेत्रवती, हस्तिसोमा, दिकू, शरावती, पयोष्णी, वेणा, भीमरथी, कावेरी, चुलुका, वाणी और शतबला

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | gomatīṃ dhūtapāpāṃ ca vandanāṃ ca mahānadīm | kauśikīṃ tridivāṃ kṛtyāṃ nicitāṃ lohitāraṇīm |

Translation

Sañjaya dijo: Luego invocó y recordó una sucesión de ríos sagrados—Gomatī, Dhūtapāpā, Vandanā, el gran río Mahānadī, Kauśikī, Tridivā, Kṛtyā, Nicitā y Lohitāraṇī—cuyos nombres mismos se tienen por purificadores y protectores. En medio del avance de la guerra, esta recitación enmarca la campaña con un horizonte moral y ritual: la tierra queda santificada, y el oyente es recordado de que la acción humana se despliega bajo la mirada del dharma y el poder purificador de los tīrthas.

Word by Word

गोमतीthe river Gomati

धूतपापाम्sin-cleansing (river)

चand

वन्दनाम्the river Vandana

चand

महानदीम्the great river (Mahanadi)

कौशिकीम्the river Kaushiki

त्रिदिवाम्the river Tridiva

कृत्याम्the river Kritya

निचिताम्the river Nichita

लोहितारणीम्the river Lohitarani

रहस्याम्the river Rahasya

शतकुम्भाम्the river Shatakumbha

सरयूम्the river Sarayu

चर्मण्वतीम्the river Charmanvasati (Chambal)

वेत्रवतीम्the river Vetravati (Betwa)

हस्तिसोमाम्the river Hastisoma

दिकूम्the river Diku

शरावतीम्the river Sharavati

पयोष्णीम्the river Payoshni

वेणाम्the river Vena

भीमरथीम्the river Bhimarathi

कावेरीम्the river Kaveri

चुलुकाम्the river Chuluka

वाणीम्the river Vani

शतबलाम्the river Shatabala

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Gomatī (river)

Dhūtapāpā (river)

Vandanā (river)

Mahānadī (river)

Kauśikī (river)

Tridivā (river)

Kṛtyā (river)

Nicitā (river)

Lohitāraṇī (river)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even as war looms, the text foregrounds dharma through remembrance of tīrthas: sacred rivers symbolize purification, restraint, and the moral weight of actions performed on sanctified land.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates a ritualized recitation of river-names—an invocation that maps the sacred landscape and frames the unfolding conflict within a religious-ethical atmosphere.