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 ||
Sañjaya nói: “Tâu đại vương, từ đỉnh ngọn núi ấy tuôn xuống một dòng trắng như sữa—mênh mông, vượt ngoài đo lường—tiếng gầm vang như một tiếng sét kinh hoàng.”
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.