संजयेमे महीपालाः शूरा युद्धाभिनन्दिनः । अन्योन्यमभिनिघ्नन्ति शस्त्रैरुच्चावचैरिह
O Sanjaya, these kings, valiant and eager for battle, strike each other here with weapons of various kinds.
पार्थिवाः पृथिवीहेतोः समभित्यज्य जीवितम् । न वा शाम्यन्ति निघ्नन्तो वर्धयन्ति यमक्षयम्
The rulers of the earth, for the sake of land, abandon their lives completely; even as they slay each other, they do not cease, but only increase the realm of Yama.
भौममैश्वर्यमिच्छन्तो न मृष्यन्ते परस्परम् । मन्ये बहुगुणा भूमिस्तन्ममाचक्ष्व संजय
Desiring earthly sovereignty, they cannot tolerate one another; I think the earth must possess many virtues—tell me of this, Sanjaya.
बहूनि च सहस्राणि प्रयुतान्यर्बुदानि च। कोट्यश्च लोकवीराणां समेताः कुरुजाङ्गले
Many thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and millions of heroic men have assembled on the field of the Kurus.
देशानां च परीमाणं नगराणां च संजय । श्रोतुमिच्छामि तत्त्वेन यत एते समागताः
I wish to hear, Sanjaya, the true extent of the lands and cities from which these have gathered.
दिव्यबुद्धिप्रदीपेन युक्तस्त्वं ज्ञानचक्षुषा। प्रभावात्तस्य विप्रर्षेर्व्यासस्यामिततेजसः
Endowed with the divine lamp of intellect and the eye of knowledge, you possess the power of that sage Vyasa of immeasurable brilliance.
यथाप्रज्ञं महाप्राज्ञ भौमान्वक्ष्यामि ते गुणान्। शास्त्रचक्षुरवेक्षस्व नमस्ते भरतर्षभ
O greatly wise one, according to my understanding I will tell you the virtues of the earth; observe with the eye of scripture—salutations to you, best of the Bharatas.
द्विविधानीह भूतानि चराणि स्थावराणि च। त्रसानां त्रिविधा योनिरण्डस्वेदजरायुजाः
Here, beings are of two kinds: moving and unmoving; among the moving, there are three kinds of birth—egg-born, sweat-born, and womb-born.
त्रसानां खलु सर्वेषां श्रेष्ठा राजञ्जरायुजाः। जरायुजानां प्रवरा मानवाः पशवश्च ये
Among all moving beings, O king, those born from the womb are the highest; and among the womb-born, humans and certain animals are the foremost.
नानारूपधरा राजंस्तेषां भेदाश्चतुर्दश । वेदोक्ताः पृथिवीपाल येषु यज्ञाः प्रतिष्ठिताः
O king, they take on various forms, and among them are fourteen divisions, as declared in the Vedas, in which sacrifices are established.
ग्राम्याणां पुरुषाः श्रेष्ठाः सिंहाश्चारण्यवासिनाम् । सर्वेषामेव भूतानामन्योन्येनोपजीवनम्
Among domesticated beings, humans are the highest; among wild creatures, lions; and all beings, indeed, subsist upon one another.
उद्भिञ्जाः स्थावराः प्रोक्तास्तेषां पञ्चैव जातयः । वृक्षगुल्मलतावल्ल्यस्त्वक्सारास्तृणजातयः
The unmoving are called those that sprout from the ground, and among them are five kinds: trees, shrubs, creepers, those with bark as their essence, and grasses.
तेषां विंशतिरेकोना महाभूतेषु पञ्चसु । चतुर्विशतिरुद्दिष्टा गायत्री लोकसंमता
Among the five great elements, there are nineteen (one less than twenty); but the revered Gayatri is said to be twenty-four in number, accepted by the world.
य एतां वेद गायत्रीं पुण्यां सर्वगुणान्विताम् । तत्त्वेन भरतश्रेष्ठ स लोके न प्रणश्यति
He who knows this sacred Gayatri, endowed with all virtues, in its true essence, O best of the Bharatas, does not perish in this world.
अरण्यवासिनः सप्त सप्तैषां ग्रामवासिनः । सिंहा व्याघ्रा वराहाश्च महिषा वारणास्तथा
There are seven wild creatures and seven domesticated ones: lions, tigers, boars, buffaloes, elephants, and so on, dwell in the forest.
ऋक्षाश्च वानराश्चैव सप्तारण्याः स्मृता नृप । गौरजाविमनुष्याश्च अश्वाश्वतरगर्दभाः
Bears and monkeys are also counted among the seven wild ones, O king; cows, goats, humans, horses, mules, and donkeys among the domesticated.
एते ग्राम्याः समाख्याताः पशवः सप्त साधुभिः । एते वै पशवो राजन्ग्राम्यारण्याश्चतुर्दश
These are the seven domesticated animals named by the wise; thus, O king, there are fourteen animals, both domesticated and wild.
भूमौ च जायते सर्वं भूमौ सर्वं विनश्यति । भूमिः प्रतिष्ठा भूतानां भूमिरेव सनातनम्
All things are born from the earth, and all things perish in the earth; the earth is the foundation of beings, and the earth is indeed eternal.
यस्य भूमिस्तस्य सर्वं जगत्स्थावरजङ्गमम् । तत्रातिगृद्धा राजानो विनिघ्नन्तीतरेतरम्
Whoever possesses the land, possesses all the world—both moving and unmoving; for its sake, kings, driven by excessive greed, destroy one another.
नदीनां पर्वतानां च नामधेयानि संजय । तथा जनपदानां च ये चान्ये भूमिमाश्रिताः
O Sañjaya, tell me the names of the rivers and mountains, as well as those of the peoples and all others who dwell upon the earth.
प्रमाणं च प्रमाणज्ञ पृथिव्या मम सर्वतः । निखिलेन समाचक्ष्व काननानि च संजय
And you, who know the measures, describe to me in full the extent of the earth everywhere, and also its forests, O Sañjaya.
पञ्चेमानि महाराज महाभूतानि संग्रहात्। जगतीस्थानि सर्वाणि समान्याहुर्मनीषिणः
O great king, the wise declare that all things existing in the world are comprised of these five great elements.
भूमिरापस्तथा वायुरग्निराकाशमेव च। गुणोत्तराणि सर्वाणि तेषां भूमिः प्रधानतः
Earth, water, wind, fire, and also space—these are all arranged in order of increasing subtlety, with earth being the foremost among them.
शब्दः स्पर्शश्च रूपं च रसो गन्धश्च पञ्चमः। भूमेरेते गुणाः प्रोक्ता ऋषिभिस्तत्त्ववेदिभिःक
Sound, touch, form, taste, and the fifth—smell: these are said by the seers who know reality to be the qualities of earth.
चत्वारोऽप्सु गुणा राजन्गन्धस्तत्र न विद्यते। शब्दः स्पर्शश्च रूपं च तेजसोऽथ गुणास्त्रयः । शब्दः स्पर्शश्च वायौ द्वौ अकाशे शब्द एव तु
Four qualities exist in water, O king—there is no smell there; sound, touch, and form are the three qualities of fire; sound and touch are the two of wind; and in space, only sound exists.
एते पञ्च गुणा राजन्महाभूतेषु पञ्चसु। वर्तन्ते सर्वलोकेषु येषु भूताः प्रतिष्ठिताः
These five qualities, O king, are found in the five great elements; in them all beings in all worlds are established.
अन्योन्यं नाभिवर्तन्ते साम्यं भवति वै यदा
They do not overpower one another when there is equilibrium among them.
यदा तु विषमीभावमाविशन्ति परस्परम् । तदा देहैर्देहवन्तो व्यतिरोहन्ति नान्यथा
But when they enter into disequilibrium with each other, then embodied beings are born and perish—never otherwise.
आनुपूर्व्या विनश्यन्ति जायन्ते चानुपूर्वशः । सर्वाम्यपरिमेयाणि तदेषां रूपमैश्वरम्
They perish in sequence and are born again in sequence; their forms are immeasurable in every way—this is their divine nature.
तत्रतत्र हि दृश्यन्ते धातवः पाञ्चभौतिकाः । तेषां मनुष्यास्तर्केण प्रमाणानि प्रचक्षते
Everywhere, compounds of the five elements are seen; people determine their measures by reasoning.