Shloka 18
Tapovana-praveśaḥ — The King’s Entry into the Sacred Grove and Vision of the Āśrama
एवमायुष्मतीभिस्तु प्रजाभिर्भरतर्षभ । इयं सागरपर्यन्ता समापूर्यत मेदिनी,भरतश्रेष्ठ! ऐसी व्यवस्था हो जानेसे समुद्रपर्यन्त यह सारी पृथ्वी दीर्घकालतक जीवित रहनेवाली प्रजाओंसे भर गयी
evam āyuṣmatībhiḥ tu prajābhiḥ bharatarṣabha | iyaṃ sāgaraparyantā samāpūryata medinī ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Thus, O bull among the Bharatas, the earth—bounded by the ocean—became completely filled with long-lived subjects. With such an order established, the realm prospered through stable, enduring generations, reflecting the ethical ideal that good governance sustains life, continuity, and abundance.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a dharmic ideal of rulership: when proper order and governance are established, society becomes stable and flourishing, symbolized by long-lived subjects filling the land up to the ocean’s bounds.
Vaiśampāyana describes the outcome of an earlier arrangement or policy: the entire earth, conceived as ocean-bounded, becomes fully populated by prosperous, long-lived people—an image of widespread well-being and orderly expansion.