Shloka 19

Chapter 7: Dvīpa–Varṣa–Meru-varṇana

Description of the Dvīpa, Varṣas, and Mount Meru

Devanagari script

दक्षिणेन तु नीलस्य निषधस्योत्तरेण तु । सुदर्शनो नाम महाज्जम्बूवृक्ष: सनातन:,नीलगिरिके दक्षिण और निषधके उत्तर सुदर्शन नामक एक विशाल जामुनका वृक्ष है, जो सदा स्थिर रहनेवाला है

Transliteration

dakṣiṇena tu nīlasya niṣadhasyottareṇa tu | sudarśano nāma mahāj jambūvṛkṣaḥ sanātanaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Di sebelah selatan Gunung Nīla dan di sebelah utara Niṣadha berdiri sebatang pohon jambu yang amat besar dan abadi, bernama Sudarśana.”

Word by Word

दक्षिणेनto the south / on the southern side (by the south)

तुbut/and (emphasis/contrast)

नीलस्यof Nīla (mountain)

निषधस्यof Niṣadha (mountain)

उत्तरेणto the north / on the northern side (by the north)

तुbut/and (emphasis/contrast)

सुदर्शनःSudarsana (name)

नामby name / called

महान्great, huge

जम्बूवृक्षःa jambu-tree (rose-apple tree)

सनातनःeternal, ancient

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Nīla (mountain)

Niṣadha (mountain/range)

Sudarśana (jambu tree)

Jambu tree (jambūvṛkṣa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse reinforces a worldview in which the cosmos is structured and meaningful: enduring natural landmarks and named regions convey stability, order, and the continuity of sacred tradition across time.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya continues a descriptive account of Jambūdvīpa’s geography, locating a great jambu tree called Sudarśana between the Nīla and Niṣadha mountains by specifying its position (south of Nīla, north of Niṣadha).