Shloka 39
Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
तत्रेमे कुरुपाउचाला: शाल्वा माद्रेयजाड्रला: । शूरसेना: पुलिन्दाश्न बोधा मालास्तथैव च,भारतमें ये कुरु-पांचाल, शाल्व, माद्रेय-जांगल, शूरसेन, पुलिन्द, बोध, माल, मत्स्य, कुशल्य, सौशल्य, कुन्ति, कान्ति, कोसल, चेदि, मत्स्य, करूष, भोज, सिन्धु-पुलिन्द, उत्तमाश्च, दशार्ण, मेकल, उत्कल, पंचाल, कोसल, नैकपृष्ठ, धुरंधर, गोधा, मद्रकलिंग, काशि, अपरकाशि, जठर, कुक्कुर, दशार्ण, कुन्ति, अवन्ति, अपरकुन्ति, गोमन्त, मन्दक, सण्ड, विदर्भ, रूपवाहिक, अश्मक, पाण्ड्राष्ट्र, गोपराष्ट्र, करीति, अधिराज्य, कुशाद्य तथा मल्लराष्ट्र
tatreme kurupāñcālāḥ śālvā mādreya-jāṅgalāḥ | śūrasenāḥ pulindāś ca bodhā mālāstathaiva ca ||
Sañjaya said: “There, on that battlefield, are gathered these peoples and their forces—Kurūs and Pāñcālas, the Śālvas, the Mādras and the Jāṅgalas; the Śūrasenas; and likewise the Pulindas, the Bodhas, and the Mālas.” By naming the many regions and tribes present, Sañjaya underscores the vast, all-encompassing scale of the Kurukṣetra war, where entire communities are drawn into a conflict whose moral weight will be borne far beyond the kings who chose it.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the war’s comprehensive reach: not only individual heroes but entire peoples are implicated. Ethically, it points to the Mahābhārata’s recurring warning that political ambition and unresolved injustice can draw whole societies into suffering, making the consequences communal rather than merely personal.
Sañjaya is reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the composition of the assembled forces at Kurukṣetra. He enumerates various kingdoms and tribes present, continuing a catalogue that conveys the immense scale and diversity of the armies gathered for battle.