Shloka 63
Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
कुलिन्दा: कालदाश्नैव कुण्डला: करटास्तथा । मूषका: स्तनबालाश्न सनीपा घटसूंजया:,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
kulindāḥ kāladāś caiva kuṇḍalāḥ karaṭās tathā | mūṣakāḥ stanabālāś ca sanīpā ghaṭasūñjayāḥ ||
Sañjaya continued: “There were also the Kulindas and the Kāladās, the Kuṇḍalas and the Karaṭas; likewise the Mūṣakas, the Stanabālas, the Sanīpas, and the Ghaṭas with the Sūñjayas.” In this catalogue of peoples, the epic frames the war as a vast, pan-regional upheaval: many communities—named one after another—are drawn into the Kuru conflict, underscoring the scale of responsibility and the far-reaching consequences of adharma and political ambition.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Though this verse is primarily a geographical-ethnographic enumeration, its ethical implication is that the Kurukṣetra war is not a private feud but a civilizational crisis: countless communities become entangled in the consequences of rulers’ choices, highlighting the Mahābhārata’s insistence on responsibility (dharma) in governance and conflict.
Sañjaya is reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra and continues a long list of peoples/regions associated with the armies and the wider political world around the war. This verse names several groups—Kulindas, Kāladās, Kuṇḍalas, Karaṭas, Mūṣakas, Stanabālas, Sanīpas, Ghaṭas, and Sūñjayas—as part of that catalogue.