Shloka 52
Adhyāya 6: Pañca-mahābhūta–guṇa-nirdeśa and Sudarśana-dvīpa
Five Elements, Sensory Qualities, and a Cosmographic Island
देवासुराणां सर्वेषां श्वेतपर्वत उच्यते । गन्धर्वा निषधे नित्यं नीले ब्रह्मर्षयस्तथा । शुज्भवांस्तु महाराज देवानां प्रतिसंचर:,श्वैतपर्वत सम्पूर्ण देवताओं और असुरोंका निवासस्थान बताया जाता है। निषधगिरिपर गन्धर्व तथा नीलगिरिपर ब्रह्मर्षि निवास करते हैं। महाराज! शुंगवान् पर्वत तो केवल देवताओंकी ही विहारस्थली है
sañjaya uvāca | devāsurāṇāṁ sarveṣāṁ śvetaparvata ucyate | gandharvā niṣadhe nityaṁ nīle brahmarṣayas tathā | śuṅgavāṁs tu mahārāja devānāṁ pratisañcaraḥ ||
Sañjaya said: ‘Śvetaparvata is spoken of as the common abode of all—gods and asuras alike. The Gandharvas dwell perpetually on Niṣadha, and likewise the Brahmarṣis on Nīla. But Śuṅgavān, O great king, is a resort and pleasure-ground frequented only by the gods.’
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse maps a moral-cosmic order onto geography: different classes of beings have distinct domains, and some spaces are shared (devas and asuras at Śvetaparvata) while others are exclusive (Śuṅgavān for devas). This reflects the epic’s concern with gradations of purity, privilege, and rightful sphere (adhikāra).
Sañjaya, speaking to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes mythic mountains and their inhabitants—where gods, asuras, Gandharvas, and Brahmarṣis reside—providing a cosmographical catalogue within Bhīṣma Parva’s broader scene-setting.