Shloka 4

Adhyāya 6: Pañca-mahābhūta–guṇa-nirdeśa and Sudarśana-dvīpa

Five Elements, Sensory Qualities, and a Cosmographic Island

Devanagari script

हिमवान्‌ हेमकूटश्व निषधश्च नगोत्तम: । नीलश्न वैदूर्यमय: श्वेतश्न शशिसंनिभ:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

himavān hemakūṭaś ca niṣadhaś ca nagottamaḥ |

nīlaś ca vaidūryamayaḥ śvetaś ca śaśisaṃnibhaḥ |

Translation

សញ្ជ័យបាននិយាយថា៖ «ហិមវាន (Himavān), ហេមកូដ (Hemakūṭa) និង និសធ (Niṣadha) ដែលជាកំពូលនៃភ្នំទាំងឡាយ; រួមទាំង នីល (Nīla) ដែលបង្កើតពីវៃឌូរ្យ (vaidūrya) ដូចត្បូងពណ៌ខៀវ និង ស្វេត (Śveta) ដែលភ្លឺរលោងដូចព្រះចន្ទ»។ ភ្នំទាំងនេះត្រូវបានពណ៌នាថាជាទីស្ថានដ៏ខ្ពង់ខ្ពស់ និងភ្លឺចែងចាំង សមស្របជាទីលំនៅរបស់សិទ្ធៈ និងចារណៈ។

Word by Word

• हिमवान्: Himavat (the Himalaya mountain)
• हिमवान्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिमवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हेमकूटः: Hemakūṭa (the ‘golden-peak’ mountain)
• हेमकूटः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेमकूट
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• निषधः: Niṣadha (a mountain name)
• निषधः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: निषध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• नगोत्तमः: best of mountains (mountain-chief)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नगोत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नीलः: Nīla (a mountain name)
• नीलः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नील
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वैदूर्यमयः: made of vaidūrya (cat’s-eye gem)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वैदूर्यमय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• श्वेतः: Śveta (a mountain name)
• श्वेतः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वेत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शशिसंनिभः: moon-like, resembling the moon
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शशिसंनिभ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Himavān (Himālaya)
• Hemakūṭa
• Niṣadha
• Nīla
• Śveta
• Vaidūrya (gem)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a sacred, ordered cosmos: even amid the war narrative, the Mahābhārata situates events within a vast moral and spiritual universe, where exalted places are associated with purity, radiance, and the presence of perfected beings.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing prominent mountains by name and distinctive qualities (golden-peaked, gem-like, moon-bright), as part of a broader geographical/cosmological enumeration that frames the epic’s setting.