Shloka 34
Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
चित्रोपलां चित्ररथां मज्जुलां वाहिनीं तथा । मन्दाकिनीं वैतरणीं कोषां चापि महानदीम्
citropalāṁ citrarathāṁ majjulāṁ vāhinīṁ tathā | mandākinīṁ vaitaraṇīṁ koṣāṁ cāpi mahānadīm ||
Sañjaya said: “(I beheld) the divisions named Citropalā, Citrarathā, Majjulā, and likewise Vāhinī; also Mandākinī, Vaitaraṇī, Koṣā, and the great river Mahānadī.” In the war narrative, these are proper names of troop-formations or divisions, evoking the imagery of rivers and wondrous places to convey the vastness and ordered arrangement of the host.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily serves descriptive epic narration rather than direct moral instruction: it emphasizes the immense scale and disciplined organization of the armies by listing named divisions, using river-like names to suggest unstoppable flow and the gravity of the coming conflict.
Sañjaya is reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the arrangement or presence of various named troop-divisions/formations in the battlefield context of Bhīṣma Parva, continuing a catalogue-like description of the forces.