Shloka 18

Kubera’s Fivefold Nīti and Protection of the Pāṇḍavas (वैश्रवणोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

उपर्युपरि शैलस्य बद्दीश्व सरित: शिवा: । पृष्ठ हिमवत: पुण्यं ययौ सप्तदशेडहनि,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

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | uparyupari śailasya baddhīṣv saritaḥ śivāḥ | pṛṣṭhaṃ himavataḥ puṇyaṃ yayau saptadaśe 'hani ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: Men theo những sống núi cao, họ thấy nhiều dòng sông cát tường chảy theo dòng của chúng; và đến ngày thứ mười bảy, họ tới một sườn lưng linh thiêng của Himavat (Himālaya). Đoạn này nhấn mạnh tính thiêng của cảnh quan Himalaya—sông và đỉnh núi như những hiện diện thanh tẩy, nâng đỡ cuộc hành trình kỷ luật của người lữ khách.

Word by Word

• उपरि: above, on
• उपरि: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उपरि

• उपरि: again above (repeated: very high/over and over)
• उपरि: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उपरि

• शैलस्य: of the mountain
• शैलस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैल
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• बद्धीः: bound/clustered (together)
• बद्धीः: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बद्ध
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Plural

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

• सरितः: rivers/streams
• सरितः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Plural

• शिवाः: auspicious, beneficent
• शिवाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिव
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• पृष्ठम्: back/slope/region
• पृष्ठम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृष्ठ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• हिमवतः: of Himavat (the Himalaya)
• हिमवतः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिमवत्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पुण्यम्: holy, sacred
• पुण्यम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• ययौ: went, proceeded
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (याति)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• सप्तदशे: on the seventeenth
• सप्तदशे: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तदश
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• अहनि: day
• अहनि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Himavat (Himalaya)
• mountain ridges
• auspicious rivers

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights sacred geography: contact with holy mountains and auspicious rivers is portrayed as spiritually elevating, supporting a disciplined journey oriented toward purity and merit (puṇya).

What is happening in the narrative?

The travelers proceed along high mountain ridges, observing many auspicious rivers, and on the seventeenth day they arrive at a holy back-slope of the Himalaya (Himavat).