Shloka 15
Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
शतद्रू चन्द्रभागां च यमुनां च महानदीम् । दृषद्वतीं विपाशां च विपापां स्थूलवालुकाम्
sañjaya uvāca |
śatadrūṃ candrabhāgāṃ ca yamunāṃ ca mahānadīm |
dṛṣadvatīṃ vipāśāṃ ca vipāpāṃ sthūlavālukām ||
三阇耶说道：“在婆罗多之地，也有娑多陀卢河与旃陀罗婆伽河，有阎牟那河与大河摩诃难提；又有德利沙德伐底河与毗婆舍河，并有毗婆婆河与粗沙河（Sthūlavālukā）。”在这份河流名录中，史诗将俱卢之野的战争安置于婆罗多更广阔的神圣地理之内——提醒听者：这场冲突发生在一片由赐生之水滋养、为众多族类所共饮的土地上。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse’s main value is contextual: it frames the Kurukṣetra narrative within the larger, life-sustaining landscape of Bhārata. By naming rivers, the text evokes shared resources and a common civilizational space, implicitly reminding rulers that power and war occur within a broader moral and ecological order that supports all communities.
Sanjaya continues a geographical catalogue, listing major rivers of Bhārata. This occurs as part of a wider description that situates the impending/ongoing war in a detailed map-like account of lands, peoples, and waterways.