Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 28

Bhū-maṇḍala as a Lotus: Jambūdvīpa, Ilāvṛta, and the Meru System

Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, and Brahmapurī

Devanagari script

मेरोर्मूर्धनि भगवत आत्मयोनेर्मध्यत उपक्‍ल‍ृप्तां पुरीमयुतयोजनसाहस्रीं समचतुरस्रां शातकौम्भीं वदन्ति ॥ २८ ॥

Transliteration

meror mūrdhani bhagavata ātma-yoner madhyata upakḷptāṁ purīm ayuta-yojana-sāhasrīṁ sama-caturasrāṁ śātakaumbhīṁ vadanti.

Translation

In the middle of the summit of Meru is the township of Lord Brahmā. Each of its four sides is calculated to extend for ten million yojanas [eighty million miles]. It is made entirely of gold, and therefore learned scholars and sages call it Śātakaumbhī.

Synonyms

• meroḥ: of Meru
• meroḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: meru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th), Singular

• mūrdhani: on the summit
• mūrdhani: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrdhan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• bhagavataḥ: of the Lord
• bhagavataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th), Singular

• ātma-yoneḥ: of the self-born (Brahmā)
• ātma-yoneḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman + yoni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th), Singular; तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी)

• madhyataḥ: in the middle
• madhyataḥ: Deśa-viśeṣaṇa (देश-विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: madhyataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; ablatival adverb ‘from the middle/centrally’

• upakḷptām: constructed/arranged
• upakḷptām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: upa + kḷp (कॢप् धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd), Singular; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; विशेषणम् purīm प्रति

• purīm: city
• purīm: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• ayuta-yojana-sāhasrīm: measuring ten-million yojanas (lit. ten-thousand thousands of yojanas)
• ayuta-yojana-sāhasrīm: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ayuta + yojana + sāhasrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular; परिमाणवाचक-विशेषणम् purīm प्रति; ‘ten-thousand-yojana-thousand’ (= 10,000×1,000 yojanas)

• sama-caturasrām: perfectly square
• sama-caturasrām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama + caturasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular; कर्मधारयः; विशेषणम् purīm प्रति

• śātakaumbhīm: golden (of refined gold)
• śātakaumbhīm: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śātakaumbhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular; विशेषणम् purīm प्रति; ‘made of refined gold (śātakumbha)’

• vadanti: they say
• vadanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (वद् धातु)
• Form: Lat (लट्), 3rd person, Plural (बहुवचन)

Characters & Entities

• Bhagavān (Supreme Lord)
• Ātma-yoni (self-born source; epithet of the Lord in this context)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the city on top of Mount Meru?

This verse states that at Meru’s summit the Supreme Lord has established a perfectly square golden city, ten thousand yojanas in measure.

Why does Śukadeva Gosvāmī describe Mount Meru and its golden city to Mahārāja Parīkṣit?

In the Fifth Canto, Śukadeva explains the Lord’s ordered creation—Jambūdvīpa, Meru, and celestial arrangements—to help Parīkṣit contemplate the Lord’s grandeur and governance of the universe.

What is a practical takeaway from Bhagavatam 5.16.28 for modern life?

The verse invites remembrance that the universe is purposeful and divinely arranged—encouraging humility, reverence, and steady devotional focus rather than material pride.