Shloka 9
Varuṇābhiṣeka–Agni-anveṣaṇa–Kaubera-tīrtha
Varuṇa’s Consecration; Search for Agni; Kaubera Sacred Site
पद्मावती सुनक्षत्रा कन्दरा बहुयोजना । संतानिका च कौरव्य कमला च महाबला
padmāvatī sunakṣatrā kandarā bahuyojanā | saṃtānikā ca kauravya kamalā ca mahābalā ||
வைசம்பாயனர் கூறினார்— “ஓ கௌரவ வம்சத்தவனே, பத்மாவதி, சுநக்ஷத்ரா, கந்தரா—பல யோஜனங்கள் விரிந்தது—சந்தானிகா, கமலா; இவை அனைத்தும் மகாபலமுடையவை (மிகப் பெரிதும் அச்சமூட்டும்) ஆகும்.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily functions as epic cataloguing: it underscores the vastness and formidable nature of the terrain (or regions/caverns) being described. Ethically, such descriptions in the Mahābhārata often frame how environment and circumstance can intensify human conflict and test endurance, discipline, and resolve.
Vaiśampāyana continues a descriptive enumeration addressed to Janamejaya (called ‘Kauravya’), listing named places/regions (often understood as caves, ravines, or stretches of terrain) and characterizing them as extensive (‘many yojanas’) and formidable (‘mahābalā’).