Shloka 44
Adhyāya 283: Varṇa-vṛtti, Nyāya-ārjana, and the Decline-and-Restoration of Dharma (वर्णवृत्तिः न्यायार्जनं च)
क्षीरनद्यो5थ दृश्यते घृतपायसकर्दमा: । दघिमण्डोदका दिव्या: खण्डशर्करवालुका:,दूधकी दिव्य नदियाँ वहाँ बहती दीखती थीं, घी और खीरकी कीच जम गयी थी, दही और मट्ठा पानीकी तरह बह रहे थे तथा खाँड़ और शक्कर वहाँ बालूकी भाँति बिछ गये थे
kṣīranadyo 'tha dṛśyante ghṛtapāyasakardamāḥ | dadhimaṇḍodakā divyāḥ khaṇḍaśarkaravālukāḥ ||
Di sana tampak sungai-sungai susu surgawi mengalir. Tanah menjadi pekat oleh lumpur dari ghee dan bubur manis; dadih dan buttermilk mengalir seperti air, dan bongkah gula merah serta gula putih berserakan laksana pasir.
दक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses hyperbolic, celestial abundance—milk-rivers and sugar-sand—to evoke a realm shaped by merit and sacred order, suggesting that righteous conduct and ritual potency are imagined to yield a world of nourishment, purity, and plenitude.
Dakṣa is describing a wondrous, otherworldly landscape where ordinary natural features are transformed into auspicious substances: rivers flow with milk and fermented dairy, and the terrain is strewn with ghee, sweet rice, and sugars, emphasizing the extraordinary nature of the place being depicted.