Shloka 48
Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
अटवीशिखराश्रैव मेरुभूताश्न मारिष । उपावृत्तानुपावृत्ता: स्वराष्ट्रा: केकयास्तथा
aṭavī-śikharāś caiva meru-bhūtāś ca māriṣa | upāvṛttānupāvṛttāḥ sva-rāṣṭrāḥ kekayās tathā ||
Sañjaya said: “O revered one, there were also warriors like forest-peaks and others who had become like Mount Meru in steadfastness and might. The men of Svārāṣṭra and the Kekayas too were seen advancing and wheeling back again—surging and recoiling in the shifting press of battle.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the unstable, wave-like nature of battle: even the mighty must sometimes withdraw and return. Ethically, it underscores endurance and steadiness—true strength is not only in charging forward but in maintaining resolve amid reversals.
Sañjaya describes groups of warriors—likened to forest-peaks and to Mount Meru—moving in the combat zone. The Svārāṣṭras and Kekayas are specifically noted as repeatedly wheeling back and returning, indicating intense clashes, tactical repositioning, and fluctuating momentum.