Shloka 60
Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
कौकुट्टकास्तथा चोला: कोड्कणा मालवा नरा: | समझ: करकाश्वैव कुकुराड्भारमारिषा:,भरतश्रेष्ठ] अब जो दक्षिणदिशाके अन्यान्य जनपद हैं उनका वर्णन सुनिये--द्रविड, केरल, प्राच्य, भूषिक, वनवासिक, कर्णाटक, महिषक, विकल्प, मूषक, झिल्लिक, कुन्तल, सौहृद, नभकानन, कौकुट्टक, चोल, कोंकण, मालव, नर, समंग, करक, कुकुर, अंगार, मारिष, ध्वजिनी, उत्सव-संकेत, त्रिगर्त, शाल्वसेनि, व्यूक, कोकबक, प्रोष्ठ, समवेगवश, विन्ध्यचुलिक, पुलिन्द, वल्कल, मालव, बल्लव, अपरबल्लव, कुलिन्द, कालद, कुण्डल, करट, मूषक, स्तनबाल, सनीप, घट, सूंजय, अठिद, पाशिवाट, तनय, सुनय, ऋषिक, विदभ, काक, तंगण, परतंगण, उत्तर और क्रूर अपरम्लेच्छ, यवन, चीन तथा जहाँ भयानक म्लेच्छक-जातिके लोग निवास करते हैं, वह काम्बोज
sañjaya uvāca | kaukuṭṭakās tathā colāḥ koṅkaṇā mālavā narāḥ | samaṅgāḥ karakāś caiva kukurāṅgāra-māriṣāḥ ||
Sanjaya said: “So too (among the peoples of the southern quarter) are the Kaukuṭṭakas, the Colas, the Koṅkaṇas, the Mālavas, the Naras, the Samaṅgas, the Karakas, and also the Kukuras, the Aṅgāras, and the Māriṣas.” In this catalogue, Sanjaya continues mapping the vast human landscape drawn into the Kurukṣetra conflict, underscoring how war gathers many communities into a single, morally weighty arena of duty and consequence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a moral-geographical reminder of scale: the Kurukṣetra war is not a private feud but a pan-regional upheaval. By naming many peoples, the epic highlights the weight of kṣatriya decisions and the far-reaching consequences of adharma and political ambition.
Sanjaya continues his report to Dhṛtarāṣṭra by listing janapadas (peoples/regions), here focusing on groups associated with the southern direction, as part of a broader catalogue of those present or implicated in the great war.