Shloka 20
गन्धर्वयक्षरक्षोभिरप्सरोभि श्व॒ सेवितम् । किरातकिन्नरावासं शैलं शिखरिणां वरम्,युधिष्ठिर! गिरिश्रेष्ठ हिमालय किरातों और किन्नरोंका निवासस्थान है। गन्धर्व, यक्ष, राक्षस और अप्सराएँ उसका सदा सेवन करती हैं। गंगाजी अपने वेगसे उस शैलराजको फोड़कर जहाँ प्रकट हुई हैं, वह पुण्यस्थान गंगाद्वार (हरिद्वार)-के नामसे विख्यात है। राजन! उस तीर्थका ब्रह्मर्षिणण सदा सेवन करते हैं
gandharvayakṣarakṣobhir apsarobhiś ca sevitam | kirātakinnarāvāsaṁ śailaṁ śikhariṇāṁ varam, yudhiṣṭhira |
Dhaumya said: “O Yudhiṣṭhira, that supreme mountain—best among the lofty peaks—is a dwelling-place of the Kirātas and Kinnaras, and it is ever frequented by Gandharvas, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, and Apsarases.”
धौम्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the Himalaya-like mountain as a sacred, awe-inspiring realm shared by many orders of beings. Ethically, it encourages reverence for holy landscapes and recognition that dharmic life includes honoring places associated with purity, asceticism, and divine presence.
Dhaumya is describing to Yudhiṣṭhira a great mountain region—home to Kirātas and Kinnaras and frequented by celestial and supernatural beings—within a broader account of sacred places and notable terrains encountered or contemplated during the forest period.