Shloka 93
Kubera’s Fivefold Nīti and Protection of the Pāṇḍavas (वैश्रवणोपदेशः)
शोभयन्ति महाशैलं नानारजतधातव: । क्वचिदगञ्जनवर्णा भा: क्वचित् काउचनसन्निभा:,“नाना प्रकारके रजतमय धातु इस महान् पर्वतकी शोभा बढ़ा रहे हैं। इनमेंसे कुछ तो अपनी प्रभाओंसे भगवान् भास्करके समान प्रकाशित होते हैं और कुछ शरद्-ऋतुके श्वेत बादलोंके समान सुशोभित हो रहे हैं। कहीं काजलके समान काले और सुवर्णके समान पीले रंगके धातु दीख पड़ते हैं
śobhayanti mahāśailaṃ nānārajatadhātavaḥ | kvacid agañjanavarṇā bhāḥ kvacit kāucanasannibhāḥ ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Ang mga ugat ng sari-saring mineral na tila pilak ay lalo pang nagpaganda sa dakilang bundok. Sa ilang dako, ang kislap nito’y maitim na gaya ng koliryo; sa iba naman, ito’y kumikinang na parang ginto.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily offers poetic observation rather than direct moral instruction: it highlights attentive seeing—recognizing varied qualities within a single landscape. In the Vana Parva’s broader context of exile and travel, such descriptions underscore endurance and the mind’s capacity to find order and beauty even amid hardship.
Vaiśampāyana is narrating a scene in which a great mountain is being described. Its surface is said to be adorned by many kinds of mineral veins—some appearing dark like collyrium and others shining like gold—emphasizing the mountain’s striking, variegated splendor.