Shloka 15

Devanagari script

तास्व् इमे कुरुपाञ्चाला मध्यदेशादयो जनाः पूर्वदेशादिकाश् चैव कामरूपनिवासिनः

Transliteration

tāsv ime kurupāñcālā madhyadeśādayo janāḥ pūrvadeśādikāś caiva kāmarūpanivāsinaḥ

Translation

وفي تلك الديار يسكن الكُرو والبَانْچالا، وأهل مَدْهْيَ دِيش وما حوله من الأقاليم الوسطى، وأهل البلاد الشرقية وما يليها، وكذلك سكان كاماروبا—كلُّ قومٍ مقيمٌ في نصيبه المعيَّن.

Word by Word

• तासु: in those
• तासु: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; ‘in those (rivers/regions)’

• इमे: these
• इमे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; ‘these’

• कुरु: Kurūs
• कुरु: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; जनपद-नाम

• पाञ्चालाः: Pāñcālas
• पाञ्चालाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाञ्चाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; जनपद-नाम

• मध्यदेश: (people of) Madhyadeśa
• मध्यदेश: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्यदेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (आदयः-सम्बद्ध); देश-नाम

• आदयः: and others
• आदयः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; ‘and others’

• जनाः: people
• जनाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• पूर्वदेश: (people of) Pūrvadeśa
• पूर्वदेश: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्वदेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (आदिकाः-सम्बद्ध); देश-नाम

• आदिकाः: and others (etc.)
• आदिकाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; ‘etc., and the like’

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

• एव: indeed/also
• एव: Sambandha/Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (particle of emphasis)

• कामरूप: of Kāmarūpa
• कामरूप: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कामरूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (in compound)

• निवासिनः: inhabitants/dwellers
• निवासिनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नि√वस् (धातु) + निवासिन् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकालिक-कृदन्त (present participial/agent noun), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; ‘निवसन्तः’

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Enumeration of Bhārata-varṣa’s peoples by region (central, eastern, etc.)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas (regions)

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Kuru
• Pāñcāla
• Madhyadeśa
• Pūrvadeśa
• Kāmarūpa
• Bhārata-varṣa

FAQs

What is the significance of listing peoples like the Kurus and Pāñcālas in the Vishnu Purana?

It situates Bhārata-varṣa within the Purāṇic sacred geography, showing human society as part of an ordered world-system where regions and communities have defined places.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the organization of Bhārata-varṣa here?

He presents it descriptively by naming janapadas and broad directional zones (central and eastern tracts), indicating a structured territorial map rather than a mythic abstraction alone.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this geographic context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana frames such world-ordering as sustained by the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—whose governance underlies the stability and intelligibility of the cosmos and its human domains.