Shloka 8
Adhyāya 6: Pañca-mahābhūta–guṇa-nirdeśa and Sudarśana-dvīpa
Five Elements, Sensory Qualities, and a Cosmographic Island
हेमकूटात् परं चैव हरिवर्ष प्रचक्षते । दक्षिणेन तु नीलस्य निषधस्योत्तरेण तु
hemakūṭāt paraṃ caiva harivarṣaṃ pracakṣate | dakṣiṇena tu nīlasya niṣadhasyottareṇa tu ||
三阇耶说道：“越过金峰山（Hemakūṭa），人们说有一方名为诃利雨地（Harivarṣa）的地域。它在尼罗（Nīla）之南、尼沙陀（Niṣadha）之北——由此，在神圣地理之中，世界的疆界依传统之理解而井然划定。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse conveys a traditional, ordered mapping of the world: regions are defined by clear natural boundaries (mountain ranges). This reflects the epic’s concern with cosmic order—how reality is structured and named within inherited knowledge.
Sañjaya is describing the layout of major regions and mountains, locating Harivarṣa relative to Hemakūṭa, Nīla, and Niṣadha as part of a broader geographic/cosmographic account within Bhīṣma Parva.