Adhyaya 26

Verse 1

अ्---#क्रत षड्विशो<5ध्याय: इन्द्रद्वारा की हुई वषसि सर्पोकी प्रसन्नता सौतिर्वाच एवं स्तुतस्तदा कद्र्वा भगवान्‌ हरिवाहन: । नीलजीमूतसंघातै: सर्वमम्बरमावृणोत्‌,उग्रश्रवाजी कहते हैं--नागमाता कद्रूके इस प्रकार स्तुति करनेपर भगवान्‌ इन्द्रने मेघोंकी काली घटाओंद्वारा सम्पूर्ण आकाशको आच्छादित कर दिया

Sauti said: Thus praised at that time by Kadrū, the blessed Lord—he whose mount bears Indra—covered the entire sky with masses of dark, blue-black rain-clouds. The scene signals divine responsiveness to devotion and sets the stage for the serpents’ satisfaction through the life-giving rains.

Verse 2

मेघानाज्ञापयामास वर्षध्वममृतं शुभम्‌ । ते मेघा मुमुचुस्तोयं प्रभूतं विद्युदुज्ज्वला:,साथ ही मेघोंको आज्ञा दी--'तुम सब शीतल जलकी वर्षा करो।” आज्ञा पाकर बिजलियोंसे प्रकाशित होनेवाले उन मेघोंने प्रचुर जलकी वृष्टि की

The Grandsire commanded the clouds, “Pour down auspicious, nectar-like rain.” Obeying his order, the clouds—bright with flashes of lightning—released abundant water. The scene underscores the moral authority of an elder whose word restores balance and well-being through beneficent nature.

Verse 3

परस्परमिवात्यर्थ गर्जन्त: सततं दिवि । संवर्तितमिवाकाशं जलदैः सुमहाद्भुतै:,वे परस्पर अत्यन्त गर्जना करते हुए आकाशसे निरन्तर पानी बरसाते रहे। जोर-जोरसे गर्जने और लगातार असीम जलकी वर्षा करनेवाले अत्यन्त अद्भुत जलधरोंने सारे आकाशको घेर-सा लिया था। असंख्य धारारूप लहरोंसे युक्त वह व्योमसमुद्र मानो नृत्य-सा कर रहा था

The clouds, as if challenging one another, roared exceedingly and unceasingly in the sky. Those vast and wondrous rain-bearers seemed to wrap and churn the whole firmament, pouring down water without pause—so that the heavens themselves appeared like an ocean in motion, heaving with countless streaming waves. In the narrative frame, the image heightens awe (adbhuta) and signals a moment of overwhelming natural power that dwarfs human action, reminding listeners of the cosmic scale within which dharma and destiny unfold.

Verse 4

सृजद्धिरतुलं तोयमजसं सुमहारवै: । सम्प्रनृत्तमिवाकाशं धारोमिभिरनेकश:,वे परस्पर अत्यन्त गर्जना करते हुए आकाशसे निरन्तर पानी बरसाते रहे। जोर-जोरसे गर्जने और लगातार असीम जलकी वर्षा करनेवाले अत्यन्त अद्भुत जलधरोंने सारे आकाशको घेर-सा लिया था। असंख्य धारारूप लहरोंसे युक्त वह व्योमसमुद्र मानो नृत्य-सा कर रहा था

With tremendous, unceasing roars, the cloud-masses poured down immeasurable water without pause. The sky, crowded on all sides by those wondrous rain-bearers, seemed like a vast ocean aloft; with countless wave-like streams of rain, it appeared as though the very firmament were dancing.

Verse 5

मेघस्तनितनिर्धोषैर्विद्युत्पवनकम्पितै: । तैमेंघै: सततासारं वर्षद्धिरनिशं तदा,भयंकर गर्जन-तर्जन करनेवाले वे मेघ बिजली और वायुसे प्रकम्पित हो उस समय निरन्तर मूसलाधार पानी गिरा रहे थे। उनके द्वारा आच्छादित आकाशमें चन्द्रमा और सूर्यकी किरणें भी अदृश्य हो गयी थीं। इन्द्रदेवके इस प्रकार वर्षा करनेपर नागोंको बड़ा हर्ष हुआ

Bhīṣma said: “Then those clouds—terrifying with thunder’s roar, shaken by lightning and wind—poured down an unbroken, ceaseless torrent. The sky became so covered that even the rays of the moon and the sun were no longer seen. As Indra thus sent down the rain, the Nāgas were filled with great delight.”

Verse 6

नष्टचन्द्राककिरणमम्बरं समपद्यत | नागानामुत्तमो हर्षस्तथा वर्षति वासवे,भयंकर गर्जन-तर्जन करनेवाले वे मेघ बिजली और वायुसे प्रकम्पित हो उस समय निरन्तर मूसलाधार पानी गिरा रहे थे। उनके द्वारा आच्छादित आकाशमें चन्द्रमा और सूर्यकी किरणें भी अदृश्य हो गयी थीं। इन्द्रदेवके इस प्रकार वर्षा करनेपर नागोंको बड़ा हर्ष हुआ

Bhīṣma said: “The sky became such that the rays of the moon and the sun were lost from sight. And as Vāsava (Indra) poured down rain in that manner, the Nāgas were filled with the greatest joy.”

Verse 7

आपूर्यत मही चापि सलिलेन समन्ततः । रसातलमनुप्राप्त शीतलं विमलं जलम्‌,पृथ्वीपर सब ओर पानी-ही-पानी भर गया। वह शीतल और निर्मल जल रसातलतक पहुँच गया

The earth, on every side, became completely filled with water. That cool, crystal-clear flood spread downward until it reached Rasātala, conveying the overwhelming force of the deluge and the cosmic scale of the event as described by the Grandsire.

Verse 8

तदा भूरभवच्छन्ना जलोरमिभिरनेकश: । रामणीयकमागच्छन्‌ मात्रा सह भुजड़मा:,उस समय सारा भूतल जलकी असंख्य तरंगोंसे आच्छादित हो गया था। इस प्रकार वर्षसिे संतुष्ट हुए सर्प अपनी माताके साथ रामणीयक द्वीपमें आ गये

Then the entire surface of the earth became covered on all sides by countless waves of water. Thus satisfied by the rain, the serpents (Nāgas) came, together with their mother, to the island called Ramaṇīyaka—signaling a restoration of balance after distress and a return to a fitting abode once their need had been met.

Verse 25

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्या भारत आदिपव॑के अन्तर्गत आस्तीकपवरर्में गरुडचरित्रविषयक पचीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Thus, in the revered Mahābhārata, within the Ādi Parva and specifically in the Āstīka section, the twenty-fifth chapter dealing with the account of Garuḍa comes to an end. The closing formula signals a completed narrative unit and frames the episode as part of the larger ethical arc of the epic, where lineage, vows, and the consequences of actions are carefully organized into distinct sections.

Verse 26

इति श्रीमहाभारते आदिपर्वणि आस्तीकपर्वणि सौपर्णे षड्विंशो5ध्याय:

Thus ends the twenty-sixth chapter of the Sauparṇa section within the Āstīka sub-parva of the Ādi Parva of the sacred Mahābhārata. This is a colophon marking the close of the chapter and situating it within the epic’s larger structure.