Shloka 23
Yuga-Lakṣaṇa and Varṣa-Pramāṇa Inquiry (युगलक्षण–वर्षप्रमाण–प्रश्न)
ततः परं कौरवेन्द्र दुर्गशैलो महोदय: । केसर: केसरयुतो यतो वात: प्रवर्तते,कौरवराज! श्यामगिरिके बाद बहुत ऊँचा दुर्ग शैल है। उसके बाद केसर पर्वत है, जहाँसे चली हुई वायु केसरकी सुगन्ध लिये बहती है
tataḥ paraṃ kauravendra durgaśailo mahodayaḥ | kesaraḥ kesarayuto yato vātaḥ pravartate |
Sañjaya disse: “Além disso, ó senhor dos Kurus, ergue-se uma montanha altíssima e de difícil acesso, como uma fortaleza de rocha. Depois dela vem o monte Kesara, rico em açafrão; de lá sopra o vento trazendo consigo a fragrância do açafrão.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive: it frames the battlefield setting through vivid geography and sensory detail (the saffron-scented wind), underscoring how the environment itself becomes part of the war’s solemn atmosphere.
Sañjaya continues reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describing the terrain beyond a lofty, fortress-like mountain and then the Kesara mountain, noted for saffron and the fragrant wind that blows from it—part of the broader depiction of the Kurukṣetra region and its surroundings.