Shloka 18
Jarītā-Śārṅgaka-saṃvādaḥ — The Dialogue of Jaritā and the Śārṅgaka Chicks
Fire-escape deliberation
विहारदेशं सम्प्राप्य नानाद्रुममनुत्तमम् । गृहैरुच्चावचैर्युक्तं पुरन्दरपुरोपमम्
vihāradeśaṃ samprāpya nānādrumamanuttamam | gṛhair uccāvacair yuktaṃ purandara-puropamam ||
毗舍波耶那说道：他们来到一处胜妙的游乐之地，佳木繁多，楼宇高低错落、大小不一；那地方光辉灿然，宛如普兰达罗（因陀罗）之城。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how prosperity and pleasure can appear radiant and orderly—like Indra’s city—yet remain a passing scene within the epic’s larger moral landscape. It implicitly contrasts moments of enjoyment with the enduring demands of dharma that will later reassert themselves.
The narrator describes the party arriving at a superb recreational grove filled with many trees and diverse buildings, so splendid that it resembles Indra’s celestial city.