Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
गोमती धूतपापां च वन्दनां च महानदीम् । कौशिकीं त्रिदिवां कृत्यां निचितां लोहितारणीम्
sañjaya uvāca | gomatīṃ dhūtapāpāṃ ca vandanāṃ ca mahānadīm | kauśikīṃ tridivāṃ kṛtyāṃ nicitāṃ lohitāraṇīm |
ਸੰਜਯ ਬੋਲਿਆ—ਤਦ ਉਸ ਨੇ ਗੋਮਤੀ, ਧੂਤਪਾਪਾ, ਵੰਦਨਾ ਅਤੇ ਮਹਾਨਦੀ; ਕੌਸ਼ਿਕੀ, ਤ੍ਰਿਦਿਵਾ, ਕ੍ਰਿਤਿਆ, ਨਿਚਿਤਾ ਅਤੇ ਲੋਹਿਤਾਰਣੀ—ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਨਦੀਆਂ ਦਾ ਸਿਮਰਨ ਕੀਤਾ।
संजय उवाच
Even as war looms, the text foregrounds dharma through remembrance of tīrthas: sacred rivers symbolize purification, restraint, and the moral weight of actions performed on sanctified land.
Sañjaya narrates a ritualized recitation of river-names—an invocation that maps the sacred landscape and frames the unfolding conflict within a religious-ethical atmosphere.