Shloka 21
Yuga-Lakṣaṇa and Varṣa-Pramāṇa Inquiry (युगलक्षण–वर्षप्रमाण–प्रश्न)
संजय उवाच सर्वेष्वेव महाराज द्वीपेषु कुरुनन्दन | गौर: कृष्णश्न वर्णो द्वौ तयोर्वर्णान्तरं नृप
sañjaya uvāca sarveṣv eva mahārāja dvīpeṣu kurunandana | gauraḥ kṛṣṇaś ca varṇo dvau tayoḥ varṇāntaraṃ nṛpa ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Maharaja, kebanggaan para Kuru, di seluruh pulau-wilayah (dvipā) tampak dua rupa utama—cerah dan gelap—serta warna-warna peralihan di antara keduanya, wahai raja.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that fair, dark, and intermediate complexions occur naturally across the world’s regions; it normalizes human diversity and presents it as an observable feature of creation rather than a moral hierarchy.
Sañjaya addresses the king and makes a descriptive, world-spanning observation about the distribution of complexions across different dvīpas (regions), as part of a broader explanatory passage.