Shloka 11536
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
धनुष्कोट्या महाराज तेन शैला विवर्धिता: । महाराज! सभी मन्वन्तरोंमें यह पृथ्वी ऊँची-नीची हो जाती है; उस समय वेनकुमार पृथुने धनुषकी कोटिद्वारा चारों ओरसे शिलासमूहोंको उखाड़ डाला और उन्हें एक स्थानपर संचित कर दिया; इसीलिये पर्वतोंकी लम्बाई
dhanurkoṭyā mahārāja tena śailā vivardhitāḥ | mahārāja! sarveṣu manvantareṣu iyaṃ pṛthivī ūncī-nīcī bhavati; tadā venakumāraḥ pṛthuḥ dhanurkoṭyā samantataḥ śilāsaṃghān utkhāṭya ekasmin sthāne saṃcicāya; tasmāt parvatānāṃ lambatā vistāraś ca ucchrayas ca vivardhata iti |
भीष्म उवाच—महाराज, धनुष्कोट्या तेन शैला विवर्धिताः। सर्वेषु मन्वन्तरेषु पृथिवी क्वचित् उन्नता क्वचित् अवनता भवति; तदा वेनपुत्रः पृथुः धनुषः कोट्या सर्वतः शिलासमूहान् समुत्पाट्यैकत्र समचिनोत्; तेन पर्वतानां दीर्घता विस्तारश्चोन्नतिश्च वर्धिता।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A righteous king’s role is to restore order and stability when the world becomes disordered—even on a cosmic scale. Prithu exemplifies proactive governance: using power as a tool to reorganize nature for the common good, not for personal gain.
Bhishma explains that across different Manvantaras the earth becomes uneven. In such a period, King Prithu, son of Vena, uproots scattered rock-masses with the tip of his bow and piles them together, which results in mountains becoming larger in length, breadth, and height.