Shloka 30

सेनासमागमः — The Convergence of Armies

Devanagari script

तथा रोहितकारण्यं मरुभूमिश्न केवला । अहिच्छत्रं कालकूटं गज़ाकूलं च भारत

Transliteration

tathā rohitakāraṇyaṁ marubhūmiś ca kevalā | ahicchatraṁ kālakūṭaṁ gaṅgākūlaṁ ca bhārata ||

Translation

వైశంపాయనుడు పలికెను—ఓ భారతా! అలాగే రోహితక అరణ్యం, సమస్త ఎడారి భూభాగం, అహిచ్ఛత్రం, కాలకూటం మరియు గంగాతీరం—ఈ సమృద్ధ ప్రాంతాలు కౌరవ సేనచే అన్ని వైపులా చుట్టుముట్టబడ్డాయి.

Word by Word

• तथा: likewise; also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• रोहितकारण्यं: the Rohitaka forest-region
• रोहितकारण्यं: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रोहितकारण्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• मरुभूमिं: the desert land
• मरुभूमिं: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरुभूमि
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

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

• केवला: entire; whole
• केवला: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: केवल
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• अहिच्छत्रं: Ahicchatra (place-name)
• अहिच्छत्रं: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहिच्छत्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• कालकूटं: Kālakūṭa (place-name / 'black-peak')
• कालकूटं: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालकूट
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• गजाकूलं: Gajā-kūla (place-name; 'elephant-bank/shore')
• गजाकूलं: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गजाकूल
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

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

• भारत: O Bhārata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशमग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Bhārata (Janamejaya as addressee)
• Rohitakāraṇya (Rohitaka forest)
• Marubhūmi (desert region)
• Ahicchatra
• Kālakūṭa
• Gaṅgā (river)
• Gaṅgākūla (banks of the Gaṅgā)
• Kaurava forces (implied by context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how political power expresses itself through control of territory: securing routes and regions becomes a prerequisite for conflict. Ethically, it foreshadows the widening social cost of war—prosperous lands and ordinary populations become enclosed within military designs.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana continues a geographical listing of regions brought under Kaurava military control. He names Rohitaka forest, desert tracts, Ahicchatra, Kālakūṭa, and the Gaṅgā’s banks as areas effectively surrounded/secured by the Kaurava forces as preparations intensify.