Shloka 25

Yuga-Lakṣaṇa and Varṣa-Pramāṇa Inquiry (युगलक्षण–वर्षप्रमाण–प्रश्न)

Devanagari script

महामेरुर्महाकाशो जलद: कुमुदोत्तर: । जलधारो महाराज सुकुमार इति स्मृत:,महामेरु पर्ववके समीप महाकाशवर्ष है, जलद या मलयके निकट कुमुदोत्तरवर्ष है। महाराज! जलधार गिरिका पार्श्ववर्ती वर्ष सुकुमार बताया गया है

Transliteration

mahāmerur mahākāśo jaladaḥ kumudottaraḥ | jaladhāro mahārāja sukumāra iti smṛtaḥ ||

Translation

മഹാരാജാവേ! മഹാമേരു, മഹാകാശ, ജലദ, കുമുദോത്തര, ജലധാര, സുകുമാര—എന്നിവ ഈ പേരുകളാൽ തന്നെ പ്രസിദ്ധമായ പ്രദേശങ്ങളായി സ്മൃതിയിൽ പറയുന്നു.

Word by Word

महामेरुःthe (region called) Mahāmeru

महाकाशःthe (region called) Mahākāśa

जलदःJalada (name of a mountain/region)

कुमुदोत्तरःKumudottara (name of a region; 'north of Kumuda')

जलधारःJaladhāra (name of a mountain/region; 'water-holder')

महाराजO great king

सुकुमारःSukumāra (name of a region; 'very delicate/pleasant')

इतिthus

स्मृतःis remembered/called

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Mahāmeru

Mahākāśa

Jalada

Kumudottara

Jaladhāra

Sukumāra

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the immensity and ordered structure of the cosmos by listing traditionally known regions. In context, it supports the ethical frame of the epic: dharma is not a private preference but a principle tied to the maintenance of cosmic and social order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is reporting to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra and enumerates named regions as part of a broader descriptive passage. The narration expands beyond the immediate war setting to a panoramic, cosmographic register, emphasizing the scale of what is being revealed and contemplated.