Shloka 19

उत्पातवर्णनम् (Utpāta-varṇanam) — Catalogue of Portents

Devanagari script

सर्वसस्यपरिच्छन्ना पृथिवी सस्यमालिनी । पज्चशीर्षा यवाशक्षापि शतशीर्षाश्ष शालय:,(इसका प्रभाव खेतीपर अनुकूल पड़ा है) पृथ्वी सब प्रकारके अनाजके पौधोंसे आच्छादित है, शस्यकी मालाओंसे अलंकृत है, जौमें पाँच-पाँच और जड़हन धानमें सौ-सौ बालियाँ लग रही हैं

Transliteration

sarvasasyaparicchannā pṛthivī sasyamālinī | pañcaśīrṣā yavāḥ śaṣkā api śataśīrṣāś ca śālayaḥ ||

Translation

Vyāsa said: The earth was wholly covered with crops, adorned as if with garlands of grain. Barley bore five heads to a stalk, and the rice plants bore a hundred heads—an image of extraordinary fertility, suggesting a season in which nature itself became favorable to cultivation and human sustenance.

Word by Word

सर्वसस्यपरिच्छन्नाcovered all over with every kind of crop

पृथिवीthe earth

सस्यमालिनीadorned with garlands/rows of crops

पञ्चशीर्षाःhaving five heads/ears each

यवाःbarleys

षष्टिकाःa kind of rice (ṣaṣṭika, 60-day rice)

अपिalso/even

शतशीर्षाःhaving a hundred heads/ears each

चand

शालयःrice plants (śāli paddy)

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Pṛthivī (Earth)

yava (barley)

śāli (rice/paddy)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ideal of abundance where the natural world supports human life; such fertility is traditionally linked to right order (dharma) and the welfare of society, implying that prosperity and ethical governance are interconnected.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa describes a remarkable condition of the land: the earth is densely covered with crops, with unusually prolific barley and rice, indicating an exceptionally favorable agricultural season and a broader atmosphere of extraordinary natural signs.