Shloka 24

Adhyāya 6: Pañca-mahābhūta–guṇa-nirdeśa and Sudarśana-dvīpa

Five Elements, Sensory Qualities, and a Cosmographic Island

Devanagari script

पाश्वें तस्योत्तरे दिव्यं सर्वर्तुकुसुमैश्चितम्‌ । कर्णिकारवनं रम्यं शिलाजालसमुद्गतम्‌

Transliteration

pārśve tasyottare divyaṃ sarvartukusumaiś citam | karṇikāravanaṃ ramyaṃ śilājālasamudgatam ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：“在那山的北侧，有一片神圣而悦目的迦尔尼迦罗树林，四时之花繁盛点缀，耸立于层层岩石的聚集之间。”

Word by Word

• पार्श्वे: at the side
• पार्श्वे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्श्व
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• तस्य: of that (mountain)
• तस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• उत्तरे: on the northern (side)
• उत्तरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तर
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• दिव्यम्: divine, splendid
• दिव्यम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• सर्व-ऋतु-कुसुमैः: with flowers of all seasons
• सर्व-ऋतु-कुसुमैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वऋतुकुसुम
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• चितम्: filled, adorned
• चितम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चित
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• कर्णिकार-वनम्: a forest of karnikāra trees
• कर्णिकार-वनम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्णिकारवन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• रम्यम्: charming, delightful
• रम्यम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रम्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• शिला-जाल-समुद्गतम्: arising amid a network/mass of rocks
• शिला-जाल-समुद्गतम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिलाजालसमुद्गत
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Sumeru (implied by the Hindi gloss: Sumeru-parvata)
• Uttara (northern region/side)
• Karṇikāra-vana (karṇikāra grove/forest)
• Śilā-jāla (clusters of rocks)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse is primarily descriptive, but it implicitly teaches through contrast: the cosmos and nature display order, beauty, and continuity (flowers of all seasons), while human beings, driven by ambition and anger, disrupt harmony through war. This juxtaposition invites reflection on dharma—how one ought to act so that human conduct aligns with the world’s deeper order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing a wondrous northern region associated with a great mountain (glossed as Sumeru), pointing out a divine karṇikāra grove filled with seasonal blossoms and marked by rocky outcrops. It functions as vivid scene-setting within his broader report.