Shloka 28
Adhyāya 6: Pañca-mahābhūta–guṇa-nirdeśa and Sudarśana-dvīpa
Five Elements, Sensory Qualities, and a Cosmographic Island
तस्य शैलस्य शिखरात् क्षीरधारा नरेश्वर । विश्वरूपापरिमिता भीमनिर्घातनि:स्वना,नरेश्वर! उस मेरुपर्वतके शिखरसे दुग्धके समान श्वेतधारवाली, विश्वरूपा, अपरिमित शक्तिशालिनी, भयंकर वज्रपातके समान शब्द करनेवाली, परम पुण्यात्मा पुरुषों-द्वारा सेवित, शुभस्वरूपा पुण्यमयी भागीरथी गंगा बड़े प्रबल वेगसे सुन्दर चन्द्रकुण्डमें गिरती हैं
tasya śailasya śikharāt kṣīradhārā nareśvara | viśvarūpāparimitā bhīmanirghātaniḥsvanā ||
اے نریشور! اُس پہاڑ کی چوٹی سے دودھ جیسی سفید دھارا بہتی ہے—عالم گیر صورت والی، بے اندازہ، اور ایسی ہولناک گرج کے ساتھ جیسے کڑکتی بجلی۔
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse cultivates reverence and humility: by portraying a limitless, thunder-voiced, milk-white torrent descending from a mountain peak, it frames the world as pervaded by powers beyond human control. Such imagery ethically tempers royal and warrior pride, reminding rulers to act with restraint and awareness of a larger cosmic order.
Sañjaya is describing a dramatic natural scene for the king: from the summit of a mountain a white, milk-like stream pours down, immense and immeasurable, roaring like a thunderclap. The description functions as heightened scene-setting, amplifying the atmosphere around the events being reported.