Shloka 55
Adhyāya 6: Pañca-mahābhūta–guṇa-nirdeśa and Sudarśana-dvīpa
Five Elements, Sensory Qualities, and a Cosmographic Island
(स वै सुदर्शनद्वीपो दृश्यते शशवद् द्विधा ।) यां तु पृष्छसि मां राजन् दिव्यामेतां शशाकृतिम् । पाश्वें शशस्य द्वे वर्षे उक्ते ये दक्षिणोत्तरे कर्णो तु नागद्वीपश्च काश्यपद्दवीप एव च,इस प्रकार वह सुदर्शनद्वीप बताया गया है, जो दो भागोंमें विभक्त होकर चन्द्रमण्डलमें प्रतिबिम्बित हो खरगोशकी-सी आकृतिमें दृष्टिगोचर होता है। राजन! आपने जो मुझसे इस शशाकृति (खरगोशकी-सी आकृति)-के विषयमें प्रश्न किया है उसका वर्णन करता हूँ, सुनिये। पहले जो दक्षिण और उत्तरमें स्थित (भारत और ऐरावत नामक) दो द्वीप बताये गये हैं, वे ही दोनों उस शश (खरगोश)-के दो पार्श्वभाग हैं। नागद्वीप तथा काश्यपद्दीप उसके दोनों कान हैं
sa vai sudarśanadvīpo dṛśyate śaśavad dvidhā | yāṃ tu pṛcchasi māṃ rājan divyām etāṃ śaśākṛtim | pārśve śaśasya dve varṣe ukte ye dakṣiṇottare | karṇau tu nāgadvīpaś ca kāśyapadvīpa eva ca |
Sañjaya said: That Sudarśana-dvīpa is indeed seen as if divided into two, appearing on the lunar disk in the form of a hare. O King, since you ask me about this divine ‘hare-shaped’ mark, listen as I describe it. The two regions earlier described as lying to the south and the north are said to be the two flanks of that hare; and Nāga-dvīpa and Kāśyapa-dvīpa are its two ears.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage models careful transmission of traditional knowledge: the king’s inquiry is met with a structured explanation that maps a visible celestial sign (the ‘hare’ in the moon) to an ordered cosmographical scheme.
Sañjaya responds to the king’s question about the hare-shaped mark seen on the moon, explaining it as a reflection of Sudarśana-dvīpa divided into two, with southern and northern parts as the hare’s flanks and Nāga-dvīpa and Kāśyapa-dvīpa as its ears.