Shloka 17
Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
वेदस्मृतां वेदवतीं त्रिदिवामिक्षुलां कृमिम् । करीषिणीं चित्रवाहां चित्रसेनां च निम्नगाम्
vedasmṛtāṁ vedavatīṁ tridivām ikṣulāṁ kṛmim | karīṣiṇīṁ citravāhāṁ citrasenāṁ ca nimnagām ||
ਸੰਜਯ ਬੋਲਿਆ—ਮੈਂ ਹੋਰ ਨਦੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਨਾਮ ਵੀ ਦੱਸਦਾ ਹਾਂ—ਵੇਦਸਮ੍ਰਿਤਾ, ਵੇਦਵਤੀ, ਤ੍ਰਿਦਿਵਾ, ਇਖ਼ਸ਼ੁਲਾ, ਕ੍ਰਿਮਿ, ਕਰੀਸ਼ਿਣੀ, ਚਿਤ੍ਰਵਾਹਾ ਅਤੇ ਨਿਮਨਗਾਮਿਨੀ ਚਿਤ੍ਰਸੇਨਾ।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse reinforces the Mahābhārata’s vision of Bhārata as a sacred, sustaining landscape: rivers are not merely physical features but life-supporting and culturally remembered realities, worthy of being preserved in collective memory by naming them.
Sañjaya continues a geographical catalogue, listing additional rivers of Bhārata-varṣa. This occurs within a broader descriptive passage that situates the Kurukṣetra narrative against the expanse of the land and its peoples.