Shloka 1

Pātāla and Naraka Enumeration; Brahmāṇḍa-Āvaraṇa and Nārāyaṇa’s Pervasion

Devanagari script

नाम षट्पञ्चाशत्तमो ऽध्यायः हरिरुवाच / सप्ततिस्तु सहस्राणि भूम्युच्छ्रायो ऽपि कथ्यते / दशसाहस्रमेकैकं पातालं वृषभध्वज

Transliteration

nāma ṣaṭpañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ hariruvāca / saptatistu sahasrāṇi bhūmyucchrāyo 'pi kathyate / daśasāhasramekaikaṃ pātālaṃ vṛṣabhadhvaja

Translation

قال هري: «إن علوَّ الأرض يُذكر أيضًا أنه سبعون ألف يوجَنة، وكلُّ طبقةٍ من پاتالا (العوالم السفلية) تمتد عشرة آلاف يوجَنة، يا صاحب الراية ذات الثور (شيفا)».

Word by Word

• nāma: (called) / namely
• nāma: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/marker), श्लोक-शीर्षकसूचक (title marker)

• ṣaṭpañcāśattamaḥ: fifty-sixth
• ṣaṭpañcāśattamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṭ + pañcāśat + -tama (प्रातिपदिक; संख्याशब्द-तद्धित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक (ordinal)

• adhyāyaḥ: chapter
• adhyāyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• hariḥ: Hari (Vishnu)
• hariḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• saptatiḥ: seventy
• saptatiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saptati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• tu: indeed / but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक (particle: but/indeed)

• sahasrāṇi: thousands
• sahasrāṇi: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• bhūmi-ucchrāyaḥ: height of the earth (surface elevation)
• bhūmi-ucchrāyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक) + ucchrāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (भूमेः उच्छ्रायः)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-कार (also/even)

• kathyate: is said / is stated
• kathyate: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• daśa-sāhasram: ten thousand
• daśa-sāhasram: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśa (प्रातिपदिक) + sāhasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (ten-thousand)

• eka-ekam: each (one)
• eka-ekam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka + eka (प्रातिपदिक; पुनरुक्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; वितरणार्थ (each, one by one)

• pātālam: Pātāla (netherworld)
• pātālam: Karma/Pratipādya (Object/Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• vṛṣabha-dhvaja: O bull-bannered one (Śiva)
• vṛṣabha-dhvaja: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha (प्रातिपदिक) + dhvaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वृषभस्य ध्वजः)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (Hari)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Purāṇic cosmography: the world is structured in measurable tiers; reality is ordered, not random.

Vedantic Theme: Jagat as vyavahāra (ordered phenomenal domain) within īśvara-sṛṣṭi; knowledge begins with right mapping of the cosmos.

Application: Cultivate perspective and humility; use cosmographic contemplation to loosen egoic fixation and prepare for dharma/bhakti.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: cosmographic vertical axis (earth + netherworld tiers)

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana, Preta-kalpa sections describing Yama-mārga and narakas (contextual continuation after cosmography); Garuda Purana cosmology passages on lokas/dvīpas (adjacent adhyāyas)

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Vishnu)
• Pātāla
• Vṛṣabhadhvaja (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the importance of cosmology (earth and Pātāla measurements) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse frames the Purana’s afterlife narration within a mapped cosmic geography, describing the earth’s height and the extent of each Pātāla as part of the larger structure of worlds.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Indirectly: by outlining the layered universe (earth and lower regions), it provides the spatial backdrop used later for descriptions of post-death journeys, realms, and consequences of karma.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Use it as a reminder that the text treats karma and afterlife within an ordered moral universe—encouraging disciplined living, ethical conduct, and reverence for dharma-oriented rites.