Shloka 8
गिरय: सागरा नद्यस्तथैवाप्सरसां गणा: । ग्रहा: संवत्सराश्वैव अयनान्यूतवस्तथा,भरतश्रेष्ठ।! यहाँ महाभारतमें रुद्र, साध्य, सनातन विश्वेदेव, सूर्य, अश्विनीकुमार, लोकपाल, महर्षि, गुह्मक, गन्धर्व, नाग, विद्याधर, सिद्ध, धर्म, स्वयम्भू ब्रह्मा, श्रेष्ठ मुनि कात्यायन, पर्वत, समुद्र, नदियाँ, अप्सराओंके समुदाय, ग्रह, संवत्सर, अयन, ऋतु, सम्पूर्ण चराचर जगत्, देवता और असुर--ये सब-के-सब एकत्र हुए देखे जाते हैं
giriyaḥ sāgarā nadyas tathaivāpsarasāṃ gaṇāḥ | grahāḥ saṃvatsarāś caiva ayanāny ṛtavas tathā, bharataśreṣṭha ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O best of the Bharatas, mountains, oceans, and rivers—likewise the hosts of Apsarases—together with the planets, the years, the solstitial courses (ayanas), and the seasons: all these were seen gathered there.” In the closing movement of the epic, the narration widens from human actors to the whole cosmic order, suggesting that the final reckoning of dharma is witnessed and upheld by the entire universe.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that dharma is not merely a private or social matter; it is embedded in the cosmic order. At the epic’s end, the universe itself—time cycles, celestial bodies, and natural realms—appears as a witness, implying that moral truth is ultimately accountable to a larger, impartial order.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a vast gathering in the Svargarohana context, where not only divine beings but also cosmic and natural constituents (mountains, oceans, rivers, Apsarases, planets, years, ayanas, seasons) are seen assembled, heightening the sense that the concluding events are of universal significance.