Shloka 21

वारुणी सभा — Varuṇa’s Divine Assembly

Nārada’s Description

Devanagari script

तृतीया, ज्येष्ठलिला, महानद शोण, चर्मण्वती, पर्णाशा, महानदी,

Transliteration

tṛtīyā, jyeṣṭhalīlā, mahānadā śoṇaḥ, carmaṇvatī, parṇāśā, mahānadī

Translation

那罗陀继续列举著名的河流：特里提耶（Tṛtīyā）、耶什提哈利拉（Jyeṣṭhalīlā）、大河首那（Śoṇa）、恰尔摩那伐底（Carmaṇvatī）、帕尔那沙（Parṇāśā），以及另一条大河。

Word by Word

• तृतीया: the third (river/name)
• तृतीया: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृतीय
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• ज्येष्ठलिला: Jyeṣṭhalīlā (a river/name)
• ज्येष्ठलिला: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्येष्ठलिला
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• महानदः: Mahānada (a river/name)
• महानदः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महानद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शोणः: Śoṇa (river Son)
• शोणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चर्मण्वती: Carmanvatī (river Chambal)
• चर्मण्वती: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चर्मण्वती
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• पर्णाशा: Parṇāśā (a river/name)
• पर्णाशा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्णाशा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• महानदी: Mahānadī (river Mahanadi)
• महानदी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महानदी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• नारद (Nārada)
• तृतीया (Tṛtīyā river)
• ज्येष्ठलिला (Jyeṣṭhalīlā river)
• शोण (Śoṇa river)
• चर्मण्वती (Carmaṇvatī river)
• पर्णाशा (Parṇāśā river)
• महानदी (Mahānadī / great river)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s view of the land as ethically and ritually meaningful: remembering rivers is part of remembering dharmic space—sources of sustenance, purification, and cultural continuity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada is reciting a list of rivers, continuing a broader descriptive catalogue that maps important regions and waterways within the epic’s world.