तन् महोदधिवत् पूर्णं नगरं वै व्यरोचत ॥
द्वारतोरणनिर्यूहैर् युक्तम् अभ्रचयोपमैः ॥
प्रासादशतसंबाधं महेन्द्रपुरसंनिभम् ॥
नदीषु वनखण्डेषु वापीपल्वलसानुषु ॥
काननेषु च रम्येषु विजह्रुर् मुदिता जनाः ॥
उत्तरैः कुरुभिः सार्धं दक्षिणाः कुरवस् तदा ॥
विस्पर्धमाना व्यचरंस् तथा सिद्धर्षिचारणैः ॥
नाभवत् कृपणः कश् चिन् नाभवन् विधवाः स्त्रियः ॥
tan mahodadhivat pūrṇaṃ nagaraṃ vai vyarocata ||
dvāratoraṇaniryūhair yuktam abhracayopamaiḥ ||
prāsādaśatasaṃbādhaṃ mahendrapurasaṃnibham ||
nadīṣu vanakhaṇḍeṣu vāpīpalvalasānuṣu ||
kānaneṣu ca ramyeṣu vijahrur muditā janāḥ ||
uttaraiḥ kurubhiḥ sārdhaṃ dakṣiṇāḥ kuravas tadā ||
vispardhamānā vyacaraṃs tathā siddharṣicāraṇaiḥ ||
nābhavat kṛpaṇaḥ kaś cin nābhavan vidhavāḥ striyaḥ ||
'That city shone, full like a great ocean -- fitted with gates, archways, and turrets resembling banks of clouds, crowded with hundreds of palaces, resembling the city of great Indra. By rivers, in groves, by pools, lakes, and on hillsides, and in lovely forests, joyful people made merry. Then the southern Kurus, together with the northern Kurus, vying with one another in prosperity, wandered on equal footing with siddhas, sages, and charanas; and there was not a single pauper, nor were there any widows.'
d92a87177963 · published Jul 12, 2026, 4:30:26 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here the picture of prosperity is joined by the image of the capital and the joy of the people. The comparison of the city to the ocean and to the city of Indra (Amaravati) is telling: an earthly kingdom under righteous rule comes to resemble the heavenly one -- the boundary between the world of men and the world of the gods grows thin. It is also telling that the southern Kurus 'vied' with the northern ones (Uttara-Kuru -- the mythical land of bliss beyond the Himalayas) and wandered on equal footing with siddhas and sages: the people of the golden age draw near the celestials in purity and prosperity. But most telling of all is the final detail: 'there was no pauper, no widows.' Here is the exact measure of righteous rule -- not the splendor of palaces, but the absence of want and grief among the least; where there are none destitute and none untimely widowed (for there is neither poverty nor the untimely death of husbands in strife), there is true dharma in governance. Thus scripture shows that the greatness of a kingdom is measured by its care for the weakest.