Shloka 19

Devanagari script

दक्षिणेन तु नीलस्य निषधस्योत्तरेण तु । सुदर्शनो नाम महाज्जम्बूवृक्ष: सनातन:,नीलगिरिके दक्षिण और निषधके उत्तर सुदर्शन नामक एक विशाल जामुनका वृक्ष है, जो सदा स्थिर रहनेवाला है

Transliteration

dakṣiṇena tu nīlasya niṣadhasyottareṇa tu | sudarśano nāma mahāj jambūvṛkṣaḥ sanātanaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: To the south of the Nīla mountain and to the north of Niṣadha there stands an immense, ancient jambu (rose-apple) tree named Sudarśana, enduring from time immemorial. The description situates the listener within the ordered sacred geography of Jambūdvīpa, emphasizing a cosmos marked by stable landmarks and continuity across ages.

Word by Word

दक्षिणेनto the south / on the southern side (by the south)

तुbut/and (emphasis/contrast)

नीलस्यof Nīla (mountain)

निषधस्यof Niṣadha (mountain)

उत्तरेणto the north / on the northern side (by the north)

तुbut/and (emphasis/contrast)

सुदर्शनःSudarsana (name)

नामby name / called

महान्great, huge

जम्बूवृक्षःa jambu-tree (rose-apple tree)

सनातनःeternal, ancient

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Nīla (mountain)

Niṣadha (mountain/range)

Sudarśana (jambu tree)

Jambu tree (jambūvṛkṣa)

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 reinforces a worldview in which the cosmos is structured and meaningful: enduring natural landmarks and named regions convey stability, order, and the continuity of sacred tradition across time.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya continues a descriptive account of Jambūdvīpa’s geography, locating a great jambu tree called Sudarśana between the Nīla and Niṣadha mountains by specifying its position (south of Nīla, north of Niṣadha).