Shloka 18
विषमं पर्वतस्रस्तैरश्मभिश्व समावृतम् । निर्जलं निर्मनुष्यं च बहुयोजनमायतम्
viṣamaṃ parvatasrastair aśmabhiś ca samāvṛtam | nirjalaṃ nirmanuṣyaṃ ca bahuyojanam āyatam ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。その地は険しく、山から崩れ落ちた岩があまねく散り、覆い尽くしていた。起伏の激しい地形ゆえ、踏破はきわめて困難に見えた。幾多のヨージャナにわたり広がる荒野には、水の気配も人の跡もない——耐久と決意を試す、峻厳で近寄りがたい景観であった。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how the epic frames moral and spiritual testing through environment: an uninhabited, waterless, rock-strewn wilderness becomes a setting that demands steadiness, patience, and resilience—qualities essential for dharmic perseverance when external supports are absent.
Vaiśampāyana describes a vast stretch of harsh terrain—uneven ground covered with fallen mountain rocks, extending for many yojanas, with no water and no people—establishing the severity and isolation of the place through which the characters must pass or in which events are set.