Shloka 18

वारुणी सभा — Varuṇa’s Divine Assembly

Nārada’s Description

Devanagari script

तथा समुद्राश्चत्वारो नदी भागीरथी च सा | कालिन्दी विदिशा वेणा नर्मदा वेगवाहिनी,चारों समुद्र, भागीरथी नदी, कालिन्दी, विदिशा, वेणा, नर्मदा, वेगवाहिनी,

Transliteration

tathā samudrāś catvāro nadī bhāgīrathī ca sā | kālindī vidiśā veṇā narmadā vegavāhinī ||

Translation

நாரதர் கூறினார்—“அதேபோல் நான்கு கடல்கள் உள்ளன; அந்தப் புகழ்பெற்ற பாகீரதி நதியும்; மேலும் காலிந்தி, விதிசா, வேணா, வேகமாக ஓடும் நர்மதாவும் உள்ளன।”

Word by Word

तथाthus; likewise

समुद्राःseas/oceans

चत्वारःfour

नदीriver

भागीरथीBhāgīrathī (the Ganges)

चand

साshe/that (river)

कालिन्दीKālindī (Yamunā)

विदिशाVidiśā (river/name)

वेणाVeṇā (river/name)

नर्मदाNarmadā (river)

वेगवाहिनीswift-flowing; carrying speed

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

catvāraḥ samudrāḥ (the four oceans)

Bhāgīrathī (Gaṅgā)

Kāliṇdī (Yamunā)

Vidiśā

Veṇā

Narmadā

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

By naming oceans and major rivers, the passage underscores the sanctity and breadth of the world in which dharma is practiced—linking ethical life to reverence for tīrthas, shared cultural space, and the sustaining power of waters.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada continues a descriptive enumeration, listing the four oceans and several renowned rivers (Bhāgīrathī, Kāliṇdī, Vidiśā, Veṇā, Narmadā), as part of a broader catalog of notable features of the world/realm being described.