Shloka 18
Śakuntalā’s Satya-Discourse and the Recognition of Bharata (शकुन्तला–सत्योपदेशः; भरतप्रतिग्रहः)
विषमं पर्वतस्रस्तैरश्मभिश्व समावृतम् । निर्जलं निर्मनुष्यं च बहुयोजनमायतम्,पर्वतकी चोटीसे गिरे हुए बहुत-से शिला-खण्ड वहाँ इधर-उधर पड़े थे। ऊँची-नीची भूमिके कारण वह वन बड़ा दुर्गग जान पड़ता था। अनेक योजनतक फैले हुए उस वनमें कहीं जल या मनुष्यका पता नहीं चलता था
viṣamaṃ parvatasrastair aśmabhiś ca samāvṛtam | nirjalaṃ nirmanuṣyaṃ ca bahuyojanam āyatam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: The region was rugged, strewn and covered with rocks that had fallen from the mountains. With its uneven ground it appeared exceedingly difficult to traverse. Spreading for many yojanas, that wilderness showed no sign of water and no trace of human presence—an austere, forbidding landscape that tests endurance and resolve.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how the epic frames moral and spiritual testing through environment: an uninhabited, waterless, rock-strewn wilderness becomes a setting that demands steadiness, patience, and resilience—qualities essential for dharmic perseverance when external supports are absent.
Vaiśampāyana describes a vast stretch of harsh terrain—uneven ground covered with fallen mountain rocks, extending for many yojanas, with no water and no people—establishing the severity and isolation of the place through which the characters must pass or in which events are set.