06.006
Library: Dhritarashtra enquires about the earth and earth dwellers. Sanjaya starts with the description of movable and immovable beings.
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca॥
Dhritarashtra spoke:
nadīnāṃ parvatānāṃ ca nāmadheyāni sañjaya। tathā janapadānāṃ ca ye cānye bhūmimāśritāḥ ॥6-6-1॥
O Sanjaya, here are the names of the rivers, mountains, and regions, along with those who inhabit the land.
pramāṇaṃ ca pramāṇajña pṛthivyā api sarvaśaḥ। nikhilena samācakṣva kānanāni ca sañjaya ॥6-6-2॥
O Sañjaya, describe completely the measures and the knower of measures of the earth, and also the forests entirely.
sañjaya uvāca॥
Sanjaya said:
pañcemāni mahārāja mahābhūtāni saṅgrahāt। jagatsthitāni sarvāṇi samānyāhurmanīṣiṇaḥ ॥6-6-3॥
O great king, the wise declare that these five great elements are the common constituents of all the worlds.
bhūmir-āpas-tathā vāyur-agnir-ākāśam-eva ca। guṇottarāṇi sarvāṇi teṣāṃ bhūmiḥ pradhānataḥ ॥6-6-4॥
The earth, water, air, fire, and ether are all qualities, with earth being the primary one.
śabdaḥ sparśaśca rūpaṃ ca raso gandhaśca pañcamaḥ। bhūmerete guṇāḥ proktā ṛṣibhistattvavedibhiḥ ॥6-6-5॥
The sages who understand the essence of reality have described sound, touch, form, taste, and smell as the five inherent qualities of the earth.
catvāro'psu guṇā rājangandhastatra na vidyate। śabdaḥ sparśaśca rūpaṃ ca tejaso'tha guṇāstrayaḥ ॥ śabdaḥ sparśaśca vāyostu ākāśe śabda eva ca ॥6-6-6॥
O king, there are four qualities in water, but smell is absent. Fire possesses sound, touch, and form as its qualities, while air has sound and touch. In space, only sound exists.
ete pañca guṇā rājanmahābhūteṣu pañcasu। vartante sarvalokeṣu yeṣu lokāḥ pratiṣṭhitāḥ ॥6-6-7॥
O King, these five qualities are present in the five great elements and exist in all the worlds where the worlds are established.
anyonyaṃ nābhivartante sāmyaṃ bhavati vai yadā। yadā tu viṣamībhāvam āviśanti parasparam ॥ tadā dehair dehavanto vyatirohanti nānyathā ॥6-6-8॥
When there is no overcoming of each other, equality is indeed established. However, when they mutually enter into a state of inequality, then the embodied beings transcend through their bodies, and not otherwise.
ānupūrvyād vinaśyanti jāyante cānupūrvaśaḥ। sarvāṇy aparimeyāni tadeṣāṃ rūpam aiśvaram ॥6-6-9॥
In the divine order, all things perish and are born sequentially; these forms are immeasurable and divine.
tatra tatra hi dṛśyante dhātavaḥ pāñcabhautikāḥ। teṣāṃ manuṣyāstarkeṇa pramāṇāni pracakṣate ॥6-6-10॥
In various places, indeed, elements composed of the five great elements are observed. Humans declare their evidences through reasoning.
acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁstarkeṇa sādhayet। prakṛtibhyaḥ paraṁ yattu tadacintyasyalakṣaṇam ॥6-6-11॥
The inconceivable states cannot be comprehended through logic. What lies beyond nature is the hallmark of the inconceivable.
sudarśanaṃ pravakṣyāmi dvīpaṃ te kurunandana। parimaṇḍalo mahārāja dvīpo'sau cakrasaṃsthitaḥ ॥6-6-12॥
I will describe to you the beautiful Sudarshana island, O descendant of Kuru. This island, O great king, is perfectly circular and situated like a wheel.
nadījala-praticchannaḥ parvataiś cābhra-saṃnibhaiḥ। puraiś ca vividhākārai ramyair janapadais tathā ॥6-6-13॥
The landscape was covered by river water and mountains that looked like clouds, and it was adorned with cities of various beautiful forms and regions.
vṛkṣaiḥ puṣpaphalopetaiḥ sampannadhanadhānyavān। lāvaṇena samudreṇa samantātparivāritaḥ ॥6-6-14॥
The land is lush with trees bearing flowers and fruits, abundant in wealth and grains, and is entirely surrounded by the salty ocean.
yathā ca puruṣaḥ paśyedādarśe mukhamātmanaḥ। evaṃ sudarśanadvīpo dṛśyate candramaṇḍale ॥6-6-15॥
Just as a man sees his reflection in a mirror, the Sudarshana island is visible in the moon's sphere.
dviraṁśe pippalastatra dviraṁśe ca śaśo mahān। sarvauṣadhisamāvāpaiḥ sarvataḥ paribṛṁhitaḥ ॥ āpastato'nyā vijñeyā eṣa saṅkṣepa ucyate ॥6-6-16॥
The Pippala tree and the great hare are each divided into two parts, surrounded by all kinds of medicinal plants. Then, other waters are to be understood. This is the summary.
