Vamana Purana — Sukesha's Boon & Twelve Dharmas, Shloka 41

Sukesha’s Boon, the Twelve Dharmas of Beings, and the Cosmography of the Seven Dvipas with the Twenty-One Hells

Devanagari script

तस्माच्च पुष्करद्वीपः स्वादूदस्तदनन्तरम् कोट्यश्चतस्रो लक्षाणां द्विपञ्चाशच्च राक्षस

Transliteration

tasmācca puṣkaradvīpaḥ svādūdastadanantaram koṭyaścatasro lakṣāṇāṃ dvipañcāśacca rākṣasa

Translation

“And beyond that is Puṣkaradvīpa, with the Svādūdaka (sweet-water) ocean immediately after it. (Its extent is) four koṭis and fifty-two lakṣas (of yojanas), O Rākṣasa.”

Word by Word

• तस्मात्: from that
• तस्मात्: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• पुष्करद्वीपः: Puṣkara-dvīpa
• पुष्करद्वीपः: Karta (कर्ता/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्कर-द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पुष्करस्य द्वीपः)

• स्वादूदः: the sweet(-water) ocean
• स्वादूदः: Karta (कर्ता/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वादु-उद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (स्वादोः उदः)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (here: ‘that’)

• अनन्तरम्: immediately after
• अनन्तरम्: Avyaya-sambandha (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् प्रयोगः (adverbial accusative: ‘immediately after’)

• कोट्यः: crores
• कोट्यः: Karta (कर्ता/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• चतस्रः: four
• चतस्रः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक (agreeing with कोट्यः)

• लक्षाणाम्: of lakhs
• लक्षाणाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; गणनासम्बन्ध

• द्विपञ्चाशत्: fifty-two
• द्विपञ्चाशत्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि-पञ्चाशत् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; द्विगु-समासः (द्वि + पञ्चाशत् = 52); अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• राक्षस: O Rākṣasa
• राक्षस: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speakers

• Dialogue frame not explicit in the given excerpt (commonly Pulastya → Nārada); immediate addressee is ‘rākṣasa/rākṣasendra’ per vocatives

Key Themes

• Purāṇic Cosmography
• Dvīpa-Ocean concentric model
• Measurement/Enumeration (māna)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

By placing lands and oceans in a patterned sequence, the text trains the mind toward ‘cosmic literacy’—a worldview where human life is situated within a larger, intelligible order, encouraging steadiness (dhairya) and perspective.

How does this fit the Pañcalakṣaṇa?

This is Sarga-oriented cosmography: description of the world’s structure as part of the created order, often paired with later accounts of manvantaras and royal lineages.

What is the symbolic significance?

‘Sweet water’ (svādūdaka) evokes sustenance and accessibility—contrasting with more formidable cosmic waters—suggesting graded zones of experience as consciousness moves outward from the familiar.