Shloka 17
Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
वेदस्मृतां वेदवतीं त्रिदिवामिक्षुलां कृमिम् । करीषिणीं चित्रवाहां चित्रसेनां च निम्नगाम्
vedasmṛtāṁ vedavatīṁ tridivām ikṣulāṁ kṛmim | karīṣiṇīṁ citravāhāṁ citrasenāṁ ca nimnagām ||
संजय बोले—मैं अन्य नदियों के नाम भी कहता हूँ—वेदस्मृता, वेदवती, त्रिदिवा, इक्षुला, कृमि, करीषिणी, चित्रवाहा और निम्नगामिनी चित्रसेना।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse reinforces the Mahābhārata’s vision of Bhārata as a sacred, sustaining landscape: rivers are not merely physical features but life-supporting and culturally remembered realities, worthy of being preserved in collective memory by naming them.
Sañjaya continues a geographical catalogue, listing additional rivers of Bhārata-varṣa. This occurs within a broader descriptive passage that situates the Kurukṣetra narrative against the expanse of the land and its peoples.