Shloka 9
आकाशमेघवर्णनम् / Description of the Sky Filled with Rain-Clouds
पातालज्वलनावासमसुराणां तथा55लयम् । भयंकराणां सत्त्वानां पपसो निधिमव्ययम्,वह पातालव्यापी बड़वानलका आश्रय, असुरोंके छिपनेका स्थान, भयंकर जन्तुओंका घर, अनन्त जलका भण्डार और अविनाशी था
śaunaka uvāca |
pātālajvalanāvāsam asurāṇāṃ tathā layam |
bhayaṅkarāṇāṃ sattvānāṃ papaso nidhim avyayam ||
Śaunaka said: “It was the abode of the blazing fire in the netherworld; likewise a refuge for the Asuras. It was the dwelling of terrifying beings, and an inexhaustible, imperishable reservoir of waters.”
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the vast, layered cosmos of the epic: realms can be simultaneously fearsome and sustaining—housing destructive fire, dangerous beings, and yet an inexhaustible store of waters. It invites humility before the moral and physical scale of creation.
Śaunaka is describing the nature of the netherworld (Pātāla): it contains a blazing subterranean fire, serves as a hiding-place for Asuras, is inhabited by terrifying creatures, and holds an imperishable reservoir of waters.