Shloka 4
Adhyāya 6: Pañca-mahābhūta–guṇa-nirdeśa and Sudarśana-dvīpa
Five Elements, Sensory Qualities, and a Cosmographic Island
हिमवान् हेमकूटश्व निषधश्च नगोत्तम: । नीलश्न वैदूर्यमय: श्वेतश्न शशिसंनिभ:
sañjaya uvāca |
himavān hemakūṭaś ca niṣadhaś ca nagottamaḥ |
nīlaś ca vaidūryamayaḥ śvetaś ca śaśisaṃnibhaḥ |
Sañjaya berkata: “Himavān, Hemakūṭa, dan Niṣadha—yang terunggul antara gunung-ganang—bersama Nīla yang terbina daripada permata vaidūrya (seumpama batu nilam/lazurit), serta Śveta yang bersinar laksana bulan.” Dalam gambaran ini, gunung-gunung itu ditampilkan sebagai kediaman yang luhur dan bercahaya—layak dihuni para Siddha dan Cāraṇa—menegaskan bahawa medan perang pun berada dalam bingkai geografi suci yang dihuni makhluk-makhluk tinggi.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.