Shloka 3
Adhyāya 6: Pañca-mahābhūta–guṇa-nirdeśa and Sudarśana-dvīpa
Five Elements, Sensory Qualities, and a Cosmographic Island
संजय उवाच प्रागायता महाराज षडेते वर्षपर्वता: । अवगाढा हाुभयत: समुद्रौ पूर्वपश्चिमौ,संजय बोले--महाराज! पूर्वदिशासे पश्चिम दिशाकी ओर फैले हुए ये छ: वर्ष पर्वत हैं, जो दोनों ओर पूर्व तथा पश्चिम समुद्रमें घुसे हुए हैं
sañjaya uvāca | prāgāyatā mahārāja ṣaḍ ete varṣaparvatāḥ | avagāḍhā ubhayataḥ samudrau pūrvapaścimau ||
संजय म्हणाला—महाराज! पूर्वेकडून पश्चिमेकडे पसरलेले हे सहा वर्ष-पर्वत आहेत. ते दोन्ही बाजूंनी—पूर्व व पश्चिम—समुद्रांत घुसलेले आहेत.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes cosmic order and natural boundaries: the world is portrayed as structured by enduring geographical limits (mountains and oceans). In the Mahābhārata’s ethical atmosphere, such order implicitly contrasts with human disorder in war, reminding the listener that dharma and restraint are grounded in a larger, stable framework.
Sañjaya is describing the layout of the world/lands to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, mentioning six Varṣa-mountains that run east–west and sink into the eastern and western oceans on both sides, functioning as boundary-markers in the cosmographical description.