Shloka 21
Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
नीवारामहितां चापि सुप्रयोगां जनाधिप । पवित्रां कुण्डलीं सिन्धुं राजनीं पुरमालिनीम्,नरेश्वर! नीवारा, अहिता, सुप्रयोगा, पवित्रा, कुण्डली, सिन्धु, राजनी, पुरमालिनी, पूर्वाभिरामा, वीरा (नीरा), भीमा, ओघवती, पाशाशिनी, पापहरा, महेन्द्रा, पाटलावती, करीषिणी, असिक्नी, महानदी कुशचीरा, मकरी, प्रवरा, मेना, हेमा, घृतवती, पुरावती, अनुष्णा, शैब्या, कापी, सदानीरा, अधृष्या और महानदी कुशधारा
sañjaya uvāca |
nīvārāmahitāṃ cāpi suprayogāṃ janādhipa |
pavitrāṃ kuṇḍalīṃ sindhuṃ rājñīṃ puramālinīm ||
nareśvara! nīvārā, ahitā, suprayogā, pavitrā, kuṇḍalī, sindhu, rājñī, puramālinī, pūrvābhirāmā, vīrā (nīrā), bhīmā, oghavatī, pāśāśinī, pāpaharā, mahendrā, pāṭalāvatī, karīṣiṇī, asiknī, mahānadī kuśacīrā, makarī, pravarā, menā, hemā, ghṛtavatī, purāvatī, anuṣṇā, śaibyā, kāpī, sadānīrā, adhṛṣyā, mahānadī kuśadhārā
Sanjaya said: O king, I also saw the rivers named Nīvārāmahitā, Suprayogā, Pavitrā, Kuṇḍalī, Sindhu, Rājñī, and Puramālinī—along with many others. O lord of men, these famed waters, celebrated by name, were present in that vast gathering, suggesting the land’s sanctity and the moral weight of the great war about to unfold.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
By invoking many rivers—some explicitly named as purifying (e.g., Pāpaharā, Pavitrā)—the passage frames the coming conflict within a moral and ritual landscape: the war is not merely political but occurs under the gaze of sacred tradition, where purity, merit, and dharma are continually implied.
Sanjaya is describing what he beholds (and reports to the king): a grand mustering where numerous rivers and regions are recalled by name. This catalogue-style listing situates the scene in a pan-Indian sacred geography, emphasizing the scale and solemnity of the events in Bhīṣma Parva.