Shloka 22
Chapter 7: Dvīpa–Varṣa–Meru-varṇana
Description of the Dvīpa, Varṣas, and Mount Meru
अरत्नीनां सहस्नं च शतानि दश पञठ्च च । परिणाहस्तु वृक्षस्थ फलानां रसभेदिनाम्
aratnīnāṃ sahasraṃ ca śatāni daśa pañca ca | pariṇāhas tu vṛkṣastha-phalānāṃ rasabhedinām |
三阇耶说道：“那些树上所生之果——汁液各异——其围度量为二千五百肘（aratni）。待其浆液充盈、亦即成熟之时，便自裂自落。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily serves a descriptive purpose, but its ethical-literary function is to enlarge the reader’s sense of scale and consequence: the war unfolds in a world where nature itself appears immense and extraordinary, suggesting that human actions (especially violent ones) reverberate within a larger, ordered reality.
Sañjaya is reporting remarkable features of the environment—trees bearing enormous fruits of varied juices. As the fruits ripen, they naturally detach and fall, and their girth is given as 2,500 aratnis, emphasizing the marvel of the scene.