Shloka 43
Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
कुन्तयो5वन्तयश्वैव तथैवापरकुन्तय: । गोमन्ता मण्डका: सण्डा विदर्भा रूपवाहिका:,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
kuntayo 'vantayaś caiva tathaivāparakuntayaḥ | gomantā maṇḍakāḥ saṇḍā vidarbhā rūpavāhikāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “There were also the Kuntis and the Avantis, and likewise the Aparakuntis; the Gomantas, the Maṇḍakas, the Saṇḍas, the Vidarbhas, and the Rūpavāhikas.” In this catalogue of peoples, the poem underscores how the coming war draws in many regions and communities, widening the moral weight of the conflict beyond a single dynasty.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
By enumerating many peoples, the text highlights that war is not a private quarrel but a societal calamity: countless communities become implicated, so rulers bear heightened dharmic responsibility for choices that spread suffering widely.
Sañjaya continues a battlefield-style catalogue of regions and tribes present/arrayed for the great conflict, naming groups such as the Kuntis, Avantis, Vidarbhas, and others as part of the larger muster.