Shloka 27

Yuga-Lakṣaṇa and Varṣa-Pramāṇa Inquiry (युगलक्षण–वर्षप्रमाण–प्रश्न)

Devanagari script

परिवार्य तु कौरव्य दैर्घ्य हस्वत्वमेव च । जम्बूद्वीपेन संख्यातस्तस्य मध्ये महाद्रुम:,वह उस द्वीपकी लंबाई और चौड़ाई सबको घेरकर खड़ा है। महाराज! उसके बीचमें शाक नामक एक बड़ा भारी वृक्ष है, जो जम्बूद्वीपके समान ही विशाल है। महाराज! वहाँकी प्रजा सदा उस शाकवृक्षके ही आश्रित रहती है। वहाँ बड़े पवित्र जनपद हैं। उस द्वीपमें भगवान्‌ शंकरकी आराधना की जाती है

Transliteration

parivārya tu kauravya dīrghya-hasvatvam eva ca | jambūdvīpena saṅkhyātas tasya madhye mahādrumaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya disse: “Ó descendente de Kuru, essa região é descrita em termos de seu comprimento e largura, como se fosse medida por comparação com Jambūdvīpa. E bem no seu centro ergue-se uma árvore poderosa.”

Word by Word

परिवार्यhaving surrounded/encircled

तुbut/indeed

कौरव्यO Kauravya (descendant of Kuru)

दैर्घ्यlength

हस्वत्वम्breadth/shortness (i.e., width)

एवjust/indeed

चand

जम्बूद्वीपेनby/with Jambūdvīpa (as the measure/standard)

संख्यातःmeasured/reckoned

तस्यof it/of that

मध्येin the middle

महाद्रुमःa great tree

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Kauravya (Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)

Jambūdvīpa

mahādruma (great tree)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse models a traditional way of understanding the world through sacred geography: vast regions are ‘measured’ by comparison to archetypal lands like Jambūdvīpa, and central natural symbols (a great tree) mark the spiritual and cultural axis of a realm.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing a cosmographical region to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, specifying its dimensions by comparison with Jambūdvīpa and noting that a mighty tree stands at its center, as part of a broader account of sacred lands and their features.