Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 18
ब्राह्मणपूजा-राजधर्मः | Royal Duty of Honoring Learned Brahmins
गड्जाया उत्तरे कूले वप्रान्ते राजसत्तम । गोमत्या दक्षिणे कूले शक्रस्येवामरावतीम्
Gaṅgāyā uttare kūle vaprānte rājasattama | Gomatīyā dakṣiṇe kūle Śakrasyevāmarāvatīm ||
हे राजसत्तम! वह नगरी गङ्गा के उत्तर तट पर प्राचीर-पर्यन्त फैली हुई थी और गोमती के दक्षिण किनारे तक विस्तृत थी। वैभव में वह इन्द्र की अमरावती-सी प्रतीत होती थी।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ideal of royal order and prosperity: a well-situated, well-fortified city is portrayed as worthy of comparison with the divine realm, implying that righteous governance can create near-celestial well-being in the human world.
Bhishma is describing a magnificent city’s location and extent—reaching from the northern bank of the Ganga to the southern bank of the Gomati—and praising its splendour by likening it to Indra’s Amaravati.