Shloka 68
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
तीर्थानां चैव पुण्यानां देशानां चैव कीर्तनम् । नदीनां पर्वतानां च वनानां सागरस्य च,लोकपावन तीर्थों, देशों, नदियों, पर्वतों, वनों और समुद्रका भी इसमें वर्णन किया गया है
tīrthānāṁ caiva puṇyānāṁ deśānāṁ caiva kīrtanam | nadīnāṁ parvatānāṁ ca vanānāṁ sāgarasya ca ||
Здесь также содержится рассказ о святых местах паломничества и иных священных обителях, и описание областей — вместе с реками, горами, лесами и океаном. Так произведение даёт очищающий мир обзор земли и её освящающей географии, направляя слушателя к заслуге и благоговению перед святыми местами.
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s role as a world-purifying guide: by recounting holy tīrthas and the sacred landscape (lands, rivers, mountains, forests, ocean), it encourages reverence for sanctifying places and the pursuit of puṇya through remembrance and pilgrimage-oriented dharma.
In the opening catalog of contents (Anukramaṇikā/Parva-saṅgraha), the text lists what the Mahābhārata includes. Here it specifies that descriptions of sacred tīrthas and the broader geography—regions and natural features—are among the subjects narrated in the epic.