Shloka 20
Śākadvīpa–Pramāṇa–Varṇana
Measurements and Description of Śākadvīpa
परस्तु द्विगुणस्तेषां विष्कम्भो वंशवर्धन । देशांस्तत्र प्रवक्ष्यामि तन्मे निगदत: शृणु,कुरुवंशकी वृद्धि करनेवाले महाराज! इन पर्वतोंके बीचका विस्तार उत्तरोत्तर दूना होता गया है। उनमें जो देश बसे हुए हैं, उनका परिचय देता हूँ; सुनिये
paras tu dviguṇas teṣāṁ viṣkambho vaṁśavardhana | deśāṁs tatra pravakṣyāmi tan me nigadataḥ śṛṇu ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai penambah kemuliaan wangsa Kuru, lebar di antara rangkaian pegunungan itu bertambah dua kali lipat dari tahap ke tahap. Kini akan kuuraikan negeri-negeri yang terletak di sana; dengarkanlah ketika aku menuturkannya.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models disciplined transmission of knowledge: the narrator signals method (measured description) and invites attentive listening, framing geography and polity as part of responsible kingship and informed judgment in the war narrative.
Sañjaya addresses Dhṛtarāṣṭra (as ‘Vaṁśavardhana’) and transitions into a systematic description of the lands situated between previously mentioned mountain ranges, noting that the intervening breadth increases twofold successively.