Shloka 8
Adhyāya 6: Pañca-mahābhūta–guṇa-nirdeśa and Sudarśana-dvīpa
Five Elements, Sensory Qualities, and a Cosmographic Island
हेमकूटात् परं चैव हरिवर्ष प्रचक्षते । दक्षिणेन तु नीलस्य निषधस्योत्तरेण तु,हेमकूट पर्वतसे आगे हरिवर्षकी स्थिति बतायी जाती है। महाभाग! नीलगिरिके दक्षिण और निषधपर्वतके उत्तर पूर्वसे पश्चिमकी ओर फैला हुआ माल्यवान् नामक पर्वत है। माल्यवानसे आगे गन्धमादन पर्वत है
hemakūṭāt paraṃ caiva harivarṣaṃ pracakṣate | dakṣiṇena tu nīlasya niṣadhasyottareṇa tu ||
ഹേമകൂട പർവ്വതത്തിന് അപ്പുറം ‘ഹരിവർഷം’ എന്നു പറയുന്നു. അത് നീലഗിരിയുടെ തെക്കിലും നിഷധ പർവ്വതത്തിന്റെ വടക്കിലും സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നു.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse conveys a traditional, ordered mapping of the world: regions are defined by clear natural boundaries (mountain ranges). This reflects the epic’s concern with cosmic order—how reality is structured and named within inherited knowledge.
Sañjaya is describing the layout of major regions and mountains, locating Harivarṣa relative to Hemakūṭa, Nīla, and Niṣadha as part of a broader geographic/cosmographic account within Bhīṣma Parva.