Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 5

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

Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, and Brahmapurī

Devanagari script

यो वायं द्वीप: कुवलयकमलकोशाभ्यन्तरकोशो नियुतयोजन विशाल: समवर्तुलो यथा पुष्करपत्रम् ॥ ५ ॥

Transliteration

yo vāyaṁ dvīpaḥ kuvalaya-kamala-kośābhyantara-kośo niyuta-yojana-viśālaḥ samavartulo yathā puṣkara-patram.

Translation

The planetary system known as Bhū-maṇḍala resembles a lotus flower, and its seven islands resemble the whorl of that flower. The length and breadth of the island known as Jambūdvīpa, which is situated in the middle of the whorl, are one million yojanas [eight million miles]. Jambūdvīpa is round like the leaf of a lotus flower.

Synonyms

• yaḥ: which
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vā: indeed/now
• vā: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पदपूरण/वाक्यालङ्कार (emphatic/optional particle)

• ayam: this
• ayam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Deictic qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• dvīpaḥ: island/continent
• dvīpaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvīpa (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kuvalaya-kamala-kośa-abhyantara-kośaḥ: like the inner sheath within the sheath of a blue lotus
• kuvalaya-kamala-kośa-abhyantara-kośaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kuvalaya (प्रातिपदिक) + kamala (प्रातिपदिक) + kośa (प्रातिपदिक) + abhyantara (प्रातिपदिक) + kośa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (determinative chain: ‘inner sheath of the sheath of the blue-lotus’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (qualifies dvīpaḥ)

• niyuta-yojana-viśālaḥ: vast (measuring) a niyuta yojanas
• niyuta-yojana-viśālaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niyuta (प्रातिपदिक) + yojana (प्रातिपदिक) + viśāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (niyuta-yojanaiḥ viśālaḥ = vast by a niyuta yojanas); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• samavartulaḥ: perfectly circular
• samavartulaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama-vartula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (samaḥ vartulaḥ); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• yathā: like
• yathā: Upamāna (उपमान/Simile marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (as/like)

• puṣkara-patram: a lotus leaf
• puṣkara-patram: Upamāna (उपमान/Standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣkara (प्रातिपदिक) + patra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (puṣkarasya patram); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (standard of comparison)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the shape and size of Jambūdvīpa?

In Canto 5, Chapter 16, this verse states that Jambūdvīpa is vast—ten thousand yojanas—and perfectly circular, compared to a lotus leaf.

Why does Śukadeva Gosvāmī compare Jambūdvīpa to a lotus?

He uses lotus imagery to convey sacred order and symmetry in the Lord’s cosmic arrangement, describing the island like the inner whorl of a blue lotus.

How can devotees apply Bhagavatam cosmology teachings in modern life?

By seeing the universe as purposefully arranged under the Supreme Lord, one cultivates humility, reverence, and steadiness in bhakti rather than a random-view of existence.