Shloka 6

कुरुसभायां केशवागमन-सत्कारविधानम् / Preparations to Honor Keśava at the Kuru Court

Devanagari script

प्रत्यगूहुर्महानद्य: प्राडमुखा: सिन्धुसप्तमा: । विपरीता दिश: सर्वा न प्राज्ञायत किंचन,पूर्वी ओर बहनेवाली सिन्धु आदि बड़ी-बड़ी नदियोंका प्रवाह उलटकर पश्चिमकी ओर हो गया। सारी दिशाएँ विपरीत प्रतीत होने लगीं। कुछ भी समझमें नहीं आता था

Transliteration

pratyagūhur mahānadyāḥ prāḍmukhāḥ sindhusaptamāḥ | viparītā diśaḥ sarvā na prājñāyata kiñcana ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana disse: Os grandes rios — tendo o Sindhu à frente, como o sétimo — que antes corriam para o leste, voltaram atrás e começaram a fluir para o oeste. Todas as direções pareciam invertidas, e nada podia ser compreendido com clareza.

Word by Word

प्रत्यगूहुःturned back / flowed backward

महानद्यःgreat rivers

प्राड्मुखाःhaving their mouths (flow) to the east; eastward-flowing

सिन्धुसप्तमाःwith Sindhu as the seventh (i.e., a set of seven rivers ending with Sindhu)

विपरीताःreversed / contrary

दिशःdirections

सर्वाःall

नnot

प्राज्ञायतwas understood / became known

किंचनanything (at all)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Sindhu (Indus River)

mahānadyāḥ (great rivers)

diśaḥ (the directions/quarters)

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?

When adharma rises toward open conflict, the tradition portrays even nature as reflecting moral imbalance. The verse underscores that ethical disorder in human society—especially among rulers—can be so severe that the world appears ‘reversed,’ urging discernment and restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

A sequence of ominous portents is being described. Rivers that normally flow east are said to reverse and flow west; the directions themselves seem inverted, leaving people confused—an atmospheric sign that a catastrophic war is imminent.