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Shloka 13

Bhūrloka-Vyavasthā — The Seven Dvīpas, Seven Oceans, and the Meru-Centered Order of Jambūdvīpa

नवसाहस्त्रमेकैकमेतेषां द्विजसत्तमाः / इलावृतं च तन्मध्ये तन्मध्ये मेरुरुच्छ्रितः

navasāhastramekaikameteṣāṃ dvijasattamāḥ / ilāvṛtaṃ ca tanmadhye tanmadhye merurucchritaḥ

O Bester der Zweimalgeborenen, jede dieser Regionen erstreckt sich über neuntausend Yojanas. In ihrer Mitte liegt Ilāvṛta, und im innersten Zentrum Ilāvṛtas erhebt sich der erhabene Berg Meru.

nava-sāhastramnine-thousand (in extent/measure)
nava-sāhastram:
Viseṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootnava (प्रातिपदिक) + sāhasra (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd: प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); dvigu-compound used adjectivally
eka-ekameach (one)
eka-ekam:
Viseṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rooteka (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular; distributive reduplication (each one)
eteṣāmof these
eteṣām:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
TypeNoun
Rootetad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
FormGenitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन); pronoun
dvija-sattamāḥO best of the twice-born
dvija-sattamāḥ:
Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
TypeNoun
Rootdvija (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural; संबोधन to sages/ब्राह्मणश्रेष्ठाः
ilā-vṛtamIlāvṛta (region)
ilā-vṛtam:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootilā (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛta (कृदन्त, √vṛ 'to cover' past passive participle)
FormNeuter, Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular; proper name of a region
caand
ca:
Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
FormConjunction particle (समुच्चय-अव्यय)
tat-madhyein its middle
tat-madhye:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/सप्तमी)
TypeNoun
Roottad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; 'in its middle'
tat-madhyein the very middle
tat-madhye:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Roottad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Locative (सप्तमी), Singular; repetition for emphasis
meruḥMeru (mountain)
meruḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootmeru (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (प्रथमा), Singular
ucchritaḥlofty/raised
ucchritaḥ:
Viseṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootud-√śri (धातु; 'to rise') (कृदन्त: past passive participle)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular; PPP (क्त) agreeing with meruḥ

Suta (narrator) conveying the Purana’s cosmography to the sages (traditional frame)

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

I
Ilāvṛta
M
Meru

FAQs

Indirectly: by presenting Meru as the unmoving center of the cosmic order, the verse supports a Purāṇic contemplative model where the seeker meditates on a stable “center,” analogous to the steady Atman amidst changing worlds.

No explicit yoga technique is taught here; however, Kurma Purana’s broader contemplative method often uses sacred geography (Meru as the central axis) as an aid to dhyāna—training attention toward inner steadiness and cosmic order.

This verse is primarily cosmographic and does not name Shiva or Vishnu; within the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such cosmology is treated as a shared divine order upheld by the one Supreme reality revered through both traditions.