Shloka 31
Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
सुनसां तमसां दासीं वसामन्यां वराणसीम् | नीलां घृतवतीं चैव पर्णाशां च महानदीम्,सुनसा, तमसा, दासी, वसा, वराणसी, नीला, घृतवती, महानदी पर्णाशा, मानवी, वृषभा, ब्रह्ममेध्या, बृहद्धनि, राजन! ये तथा और भी बहुत-सी नदियाँ हैं
sūnasāṃ tamasāṃ dāsīṃ vasām anyāṃ varāṇasīm | nīlāṃ ghṛtavatīṃ caiva parṇāśāṃ ca mahānadīm | mānavīṃ vṛṣabhāṃ brahmamedhyāṃ bṛhaddhanīm | rājan ye tathā anyāś ca bahvyo nadyaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: “O King, there are also these rivers—Sūnasā, Tamasā, Dāsī, Vasā, and Varāṇasī; likewise Nīlā, Ghṛtavatī, Parṇāśā, and the great river Mahānadī; also Mānavī, Vṛṣabhā, Brahmamedhyā, and Bṛhaddhanī—along with many other rivers as well.” In this catalogue, the epic frames the war as a world-encompassing event: the land’s rivers and regions are invoked to convey the vastness of the gathered forces and the moral weight of a conflict that draws in the whole realm.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the epic’s sense of totality: the war’s significance is not local but pan-regional. By naming rivers—symbols of land, sustenance, and continuity—the narrative implies that political and ethical breakdown at the center (the Kuru court) reverberates across the whole world that depends on ordered kingship (rājadharma).
Sanjaya continues a descriptive catalogue, reporting to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra a long list of rivers (and by implication regions) associated with the assembled forces and the vast theatre of events. The enumeration functions as a geographic sweep, amplifying the scale and gravity of the impending battle.