SB 1.10.35 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

कुरुजाङ्गलपाञ्चालान् शूरसेनान् सयामुनान् । ब्रह्मावर्तं कुरुक्षेत्रं मत्स्यान् सारस्वतानथ ॥ ३४ ॥ मरुधन्वमतिक्रम्य सौवीराभीरयो: परान् । आनर्तान् भार्गवोपागाच्छ्रान्तवाहो मनाग्विभु: ॥ ३५ ॥

Verse text

kuru-jāṅgala-pāṣcālān śūrasenān sayāmunān brahmāvartaṁ kurukṣetraṁ matsyān sārasvatān atha maru-dhanvam atikramya sauvīrābhīrayoḥ parān ānartān bhārgavopāgāc chrāntavāho manāg vibhuḥ

Synonyms

kuru — jāṅgala — the province of Delhi ; pāṣcālān — part of the province Pānjab ; śūrasenān — part of the province of Uttar Pradesh ; sa — with ; yāmunān — the districts on the bank of the Yamunā ; brahmāvartam — part of northern Uttar Pradesh ; kurukṣetram — the place where the battle was fought ; matsyān — the province Matsya ; sārasvatān — part of Punjab ; atha — and so on ; maru — Rajasthan, the land of deserts ; dhanvam — Madhya Pradesh, where water is very scanty ; ati — kramya — after passing ; sauvīra — Saurastra ; ābhīrayoḥ — part of Gujarat ; parān — western side ; ānartān — the province of Dvārakā ; bhārgava — O Śaunaka ; upāgāt — overtaken by ; śrānta — fatigue ; vāhaḥ — the horses ; manāk vibhuḥ — slightly, because of the long journey .

Translation

O Śaunaka, the Lord then proceeded towards Kurujāṅgala, Pāṣcālā, Śūrasenā, the land on the bank of the river Yamunā, Brahmāvarta, Kurukṣetra, Matsya, Sārasvata, the province of the desert and the land of scanty water. After crossing these provinces He gradually reached the Sauvīra and Ābhīra provinces, then, west of these, reached Dvārakā at last.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

O son of Bhṛgu! Passing through the provinces of Kuru-jāṅgala, Pāṇcāla, and Śūrasena on the banks of the Yamunā River, Brahmāvarta, Kurukṣetra, Matsya, Sārasvata, and the deserts and arid regions, and then Sauvīra and Abhīra, the Lord arrived at Ānarta with slightly tired horses.

Purport

The provinces passed over by the Lord in those days were differently named, but the direction given is sufficient to indicate that He traveled through Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Saurastra and Gujarat and at last reached His home province at Dvārakā. We do not gain any profit simply by researching the analogous provinces of those days up to now, but it appears that the desert of Rajasthan and the provinces of scanty water like Madhya Pradesh were present even five thousand years ago. The theory of soil experts that the desert developed in recent years is not supported by the statements of Bhāgavatam. We may leave the matter for expert geologists to research because the changing universe has different phases of geological development. We are satisfied that the Lord has now reached His own province, Dvārakā-dhāma, from the Kuru provinces. Kurukṣetra continues to exist since the Vedic age, and it is sheer foolishness when interpreters ignore or deny the existence of Kurukṣetra.

Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The places are not listed in proper sequence. Maru is a place without water and dhanva is a place with little water. He arrived at Ānarta, the area of Dvārakā with slightly tired horses (manāk śrānta vāhaḥ).