धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
शाकद्वीपस्य संक्षेपो यथावद् इह संजय ॥
उक्तस् त्वया महाभाग विस्तरं ब्रूहि तत्त्वतः ॥
संजय उवाच
तथैव पर्वता राजन् सप्तात्र मणिभूषिताः ॥
रत्नाकरास् तथा नद्यस् तेषां नामानि मे शृणु ॥
अतीवगुणवत् सर्वं तत्र पुण्यं जनाधिप ॥
देवर्षिगन्धर्वयुतः परमो मेरुर् उच्यते ॥
प्रागायतो महाराज मलयो नाम पर्वतः ॥
यतो मेघाः प्रवर्तन्ते प्रभवन्ति च सर्वशः ॥
ततः परेण कौरव्य जलधारो महागिरिः ॥
यत्र नित्यम् उपादत्ते वासवः परमं जलम् ॥
यतो वर्षं प्रभवति वर्षाकाले जनेश्वर ॥
उच्चैर् गिरी रैवतको यत्र नित्यं प्रतिष्ठितः ॥
रेवती दिवि नक्षत्रं पितामहकृतो विधिः ॥
उत्तरेण तु राजेन्द्र श्यामो नाम महागिरिः ॥
यतः श्यामत्वम् आपन्नाः प्रजा जनपदेश्वर ॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
śākadvīpasya saṃkṣepo yathāvad iha saṃjaya ||
uktas tvayā mahābhāga vistaraṃ brūhi tattvataḥ ||
saṃjaya uvāca
tathaiva parvatā rājan saptātra maṇibhūṣitāḥ ||
ratnākarās tathā nadyas teṣāṃ nāmāni me śṛṇu ||
atīvaguṇavat sarvaṃ tatra puṇyaṃ janādhipa ||
devarṣigandharvayutaḥ paramo merur ucyate ||
prāgāyato mahārāja malayo nāma parvataḥ ||
yato meghāḥ pravartante prabhavanti ca sarvaśaḥ ||
tataḥ pareṇa kauravya jaladhāro mahāgiriḥ ||
yatra nityam upādatte vāsavaḥ paramaṃ jalam ||
yato varṣaṃ prabhavati varṣākāle janeśvara ||
uccair girī raivatako yatra nityaṃ pratiṣṭhitaḥ ||
revatī divi nakṣatraṃ pitāmahakṛto vidhiḥ ||
uttareṇa tu rājendra śyāmo nāma mahāgiriḥ ||
yataḥ śyāmatvam āpannāḥ prajā janapadeśvara ||
Dhritarashtra said: "O Sanjaya, you have duly given a brief account of Shakadvipa; now, O noble one, tell me in detail and in truth." Sanjaya said: "Here too, O king, there are seven mountains adorned with gems, mines of jewels, and rivers. Hear their names from me. Everything there, O lord of men, is in the highest degree excellent and holy. The supreme mountain Meru is peopled by divine seers and gandharvas. O great king, the mountain named Malaya stretches toward the east; from it the clouds arise and move forth in every direction. Beyond it, O Kaurava, lies the great mountain Jaladhara, where Indra continually draws the finest water, and from which the downpour arises in the season of rains, O lord of men. The lofty mountain Raivataka — there in the sky the constellation Revati is forever established, an ordinance made by the Grandsire. And to the north, O lord of kings, lies the great mountain named Shyama, because of which the peoples acquired a dark hue, O lord of the country."
33f8832710b5 · published Jul 17, 2026, 8:47:27 PM UTC
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Dhritarashtra asks to move from the brief overview to the details, and Sanjaya begins with the mountains as sources of cosmic order: clouds, rain, the fixing of the constellations, and even the color of the peoples are all bound up with the structure of this sacred space.