Shloka 17
Kubera’s Fivefold Nīti and Protection of the Pāṇḍavas (वैश्रवणोपदेशः)
अवेक्षमाण: कैलासं मैनाकं चैव पर्वतम् । गन्धमादनपादांश्व श्वेत चापि शिलोच्चयम्,कैलास, मैनाकपर्वत, गन्धमादनकी घाटियों और श्वेत (हिमालय) पर्वतका दर्शन करते हुए उन्होंने पर्वतमालाओंके ऊपर-ऊपर बहुत-सी कल्याणमयी सरिताएँ देखीं तथा सत्रहवें दिन वे हिमालयके एक पावन पृष्ठभागपर जा पहुँचे
avekṣamāṇaḥ kailāsaṃ mainākaṃ caiva parvatam | gandhamādana-pādāṃś ca śvetaṃ cāpi śilocchayam ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: Sa pagpapatuloy ng kanilang paglalakbay, patuloy nilang minasdan ang Bundok Kailāsa, ang bundok Maināka, ang mga dalisdis ng Gandhamādana, at ang puting masang-bundok. Sa pagtawid sa mga hanay ng kabundukan, nakita nila ang maraming mapalad na ilog; at sa ikalabimpitong araw ay narating nila ang isang banal na gulod ng Himālaya—isang tagpong naglalarawan sa kanilang paglalakbay bilang pagdaan ayon sa dharma, na minamarkahan ng paggalang sa sagradong heograpiya at ng paglalakbay na naglilinis ng sarili.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the dharmic value of tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage): attentive contemplation of sacred places and auspicious natural signs (mountains and rivers) supports inner purification, steadiness, and reverence—virtues especially important for those undergoing hardship and exile.
Vaiśampāyana describes the travelers’ onward movement through the highlands: they behold renowned sacred mountains—Kailāsa, Maināka, Gandhamādana, and the White Mountain—and, after seeing many auspicious rivers along the ranges, they arrive on the seventeenth day at a holy ridge of the Himālaya.