Shloka 6
Yuga-Lakṣaṇa and Varṣa-Pramāṇa Inquiry (युगलक्षण–वर्षप्रमाण–प्रश्न)
लावणस्य समुद्रस्य विष्कम्भो द्विगुण: स्मृत: । नानाजनपदाकीर्णो मणिविद्रुमचित्रित:
sañjaya uvāca |
lāvaṇasya samudrasya viṣkambho dviguṇaḥ smṛtaḥ |
nānājanapadākīrṇo maṇividrumacitritaḥ ||
लवणसमुद्र का विस्तार (जम्बूद्वीप की अपेक्षा) दुगुना माना गया है। वह नाना जनपदों से भरा है और मणि तथा मूँगों से विचित्र रूप से अलंकृत है।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse conveys a traditional cosmological measure and a vision of the world as ordered and richly endowed. Ethically, it supports the Mahābhārata’s broader aim of situating human action—especially royal duty—within a vast, structured cosmos remembered through authoritative tradition.
Sañjaya is describing the world’s geography in a cosmological register: the salt ocean encircling the central landmass is said to be double in breadth and filled with many regions, embellished with gems and coral.