धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
सुमहान् संशयो मे ऽद्य प्रोक्तं संजय यत् त्वया ॥
प्रजाः कथं सूतपुत्र संप्राप्ताः श्यामताम् इह ॥
संजय उवाच
सर्वेष्व् एव महाप्राज्ञ द्वीपेषु कुरुनन्दन ॥
गौरः कृष्णश् च वर्णौ द्वौ तयोर् वर्णान्तरं नृप ॥
श्यामो यस्मात् प्रवृत्तो वै तत् ते वक्ष्यामि भारत ॥
आस्ते ऽत्र भगवान् कृष्णस् तत् कान्त्या श्यामतां गतः ॥
ततः परं कौरवेन्द्र दुर्गशैलो महोदयः ॥
केसरी केसरयुतो यतो वातः प्रवायति ॥
तेषां योजनविष्कम्भो द्विगुणः प्रविभागशः ॥
वर्षाणि तेषु कौरव्य संप्रोक्तानि मनीषिभिः ॥
महामेरुर् महाकाशो जलदः कुमुदोत्तरः ॥
जलधारात् परो राजन् सुकुमार इति स्मृतः ॥
रैवतस्य तु कौमारः श्यामस्य तु मणीचकः ॥
केसरस्याथ मोदाकी परेण तु महापुमान् ॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
sumahān saṃśayo me 'dya proktaṃ saṃjaya yat tvayā ||
prajāḥ kathaṃ sūtaputra saṃprāptāḥ śyāmatām iha ||
saṃjaya uvāca
sarveṣv eva mahāprājña dvīpeṣu kurunandana ||
gauraḥ kṛṣṇaś ca varṇau dvau tayor varṇāntaraṃ nṛpa ||
śyāmo yasmāt pravṛtto vai tat te vakṣyāmi bhārata ||
āste 'tra bhagavān kṛṣṇas tat kāntyā śyāmatāṃ gataḥ ||
tataḥ paraṃ kauravendra durgaśailo mahodayaḥ ||
kesarī kesarayuto yato vātaḥ pravāyati ||
teṣāṃ yojanaviṣkambho dviguṇaḥ pravibhāgaśaḥ ||
varṣāṇi teṣu kauravya saṃproktāni manīṣibhiḥ ||
mahāmerur mahākāśo jaladaḥ kumudottaraḥ ||
jaladhārāt paro rājan sukumāra iti smṛtaḥ ||
raivatasya tu kaumāraḥ śyāmasya tu maṇīcakaḥ ||
kesarasyātha modākī pareṇa tu mahāpumān ||
Dhritarashtra said: "O Sanjaya, a very great doubt has now arisen in me because of what you have said. How, O son of a suta, did the peoples here come to have a dark hue?" Sanjaya said: "O most wise king, O joy of the Kurus, in all the dvipas there are two colors — fair and dark — and between them, O king, an intermediate hue. Why the dark color arose I shall explain to you, O Bharata: here dwells the blessed Lord Krishna, and from His splendor this dark hue has come about. Further on, O lord of the Kurus, lies the great and impassable mountain Durga; then Kesari, possessing a mane, whence the wind begins to blow. The breadth of these mountains, in yojanas, doubles according to their divisions. Upon them, O Kaurava, the sages name the varshas: Mahameru, Mahakasha, Jalada, Kumudottara; beyond Jaladhara, O king, is reckoned Sukumara; at Raivataka, Kaumara; at Shyama, Manichaka; at Kesara, Modaki; and further on, Mahapuman."
f0f7f5798734 · published Jul 17, 2026, 8:47:27 PM UTC
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Sanjaya's answer is theologically significant: the dark hue is not presented as a defect but is linked to the presence of Krishna and His splendor. The cosmographical explanation thus becomes a pointer to divine beauty, from which even the outward appearance of the peoples derives its meaning.