Shloka 31
Yudhiṣṭhira–Droṇa Saṃgrāma
Engagement and Countermeasures
स्निग्धाञ्जनचयाकारं सम्प्राप्त: कालपर्वतम् | ब्रह्मतुज़ं नदीक्षान्यास्तथा जनपदानपि,वे क्रमशः आगे बढ़ते हुए स्निग्ध कज्जलराशिके समान आकारवाले काल पर्वतके समीप जा पहुँचे। फिर ब्रह्मतुंग पर्वत, अन्यान्य नदियों तथा बहुत-से जनपदोंको भी उन्होंने देखा
snigdhāñjanacayākāraṁ samprāptaḥ kālaparvatam | brahmatuṅgaṁ nadīkṣāṇyās tathā janapadān api ||
Sañjaya berkata—Dengan maju setahap demi setahap, ia mencapai Gunung Kāla yang tampak seperti tumpukan kolirium yang mengilap. Sesudah itu ia pun melihat Gunung Brahmatuṅga, berbagai sungai, dan banyak wilayah permukiman.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse conveys the sense of inevitable progression: as the traveler moves from landmark to landmark, the narrative suggests that events in the war advance with a similar inevitability. The dark, collyrium-like imagery of Kālaparvata also evokes foreboding—an ethical reminder that war’s path leads through grim, fated terrain.
Sañjaya reports a sequential journey: the subject (contextually, a moving figure/force in the campaign narrative) reaches Kālaparvata, then observes Brahmatuṅga, multiple rivers, and many populated regions—marking stages of movement across the landscape during the Drona Parva events.