Shloka 5

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

Devanagari script

अष्टादश सहस्राणि योजनानि विशाम्पते । षट्‌ शतानि च पूर्णानि विष्कम्भो जम्बुपर्वत:

Transliteration

aṣṭādaśa-sahasrāṇi yojanāni viśāmpate | ṣaṭ-śatāni ca pūrṇāni viṣkambho jambūparvataḥ ||

Translation

மக்களின் தலைவனே அரசே! ஜம்பூமலையின் அகலம் பதினெட்டு ஆயிரம் யோஜனைகள்; மேலும் முழுமையாக ஆறு நூறு யோஜனைகளும் (அதனுடன்) உள்ளன.

Word by Word

• अष्टादश: eighteen
• अष्टादश: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टादश
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• योजनानि: yojanas (a measure of distance)
• योजनानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: योजन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• विशाम्पते: O lord of the people
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशाम्पति
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• षट्: six
• षट्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षट्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• शतानि: hundreds
• शतानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• पूर्णानि: complete, full (in addition)
• पूर्णानि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• विष्कम्भः: breadth, diameter, extent
• विष्कम्भः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्कम्भ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• जम्बुपर्वतः: the Jambu-mountain (Jambūparvata)
• जम्बुपर्वतः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जम्बुपर्वत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by viśāmpate)
• Jambūparvata
• yojana (unit of measure)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse functions as cosmographical instruction: it presents a measured, ordered vision of the world, implying that reality—like dharma—has structure and proportion that a ruler should understand and respect.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing the dimensions of Jambūparvata using yojanas, addressing the king as ‘viśāmpati,’ as part of a broader cosmological/geographical account.