Vamana Purana — Structure of Jambudvipa, Shloka 48

The Structure of Jambudvipa: Nine Varshas, Navadvipa Bharata, Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples

Devanagari script

आभीराः सह नैषीका आरण्याः शबराश्च ये वलिन्ध्या विन्ध्यमौलेया वैदर्भा दण्डकैः सह

Transliteration

ābhīrāḥ saha naiṣīkā āraṇyāḥ śabarāśca ye valindhyā vindhyamauleyā vaidarbhā daṇḍakaiḥ saha

Translation

Die Ābhīra zusammen mit den Naiṣīka; die Waldbewohner und jene Śabara; die Valindhya, die Vindhya-mauleyā und die Vaidarbha, zusammen mit den Daṇḍaka.

Word by Word

• ābhīrāḥ: Ābhīras
• ābhīrāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ābhīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• saha: together with
• saha: Sahārtha (सहार्थ/Association)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; postposition-like indeclinable governing Instrumental (tṛtīyā) sense 'together with'

• naiṣīkāḥ: Naiṣīkas
• naiṣīkāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naiṣīka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• āraṇyāḥ: Āraṇyas (forest-dwellers)
• āraṇyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āraṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• śabarāḥ: Śabaras
• śabarāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śabara (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction

• ye: who/which
• ye: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Relative pronoun, Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• valindhyāḥ: Valindhyas
• valindhyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: valindhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• vindhya-mauleyāḥ: Vindhya-Mauleyas
• vindhya-mauleyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vindhya + mauleya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; 'Vindhya' as qualifier of 'mauleyāḥ'

• vaidarbhāḥ: Vaidarbhas
• vaidarbhāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaidarbhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• daṇḍakaiḥ: with the Daṇḍakas
• daṇḍakaiḥ: Sahārtha (सहार्थ/Association)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṇḍaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā vibhakti (Instrumental/3rd), Bahuvacana

• saha: together with
• saha: Sahārtha (सहार्थ/Association)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; 'with' (governing instrumental)

Speakers

• Not specified in input (Vamana Purana commonly frames as Pulastya to Narada; unconfirmed for this verse)

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Ethnography/Polity (Janapadas)
• Forest Peoples in Puranic Mapping

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse normalizes the presence of forest and pastoral communities within the broader dharmic landscape, implying that sacred order is not confined to urban or ‘classical’ centers.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

As with other janapada lists, it functions as descriptive world-order material often embedded within Vaṃśānucarita/Manvantara frameworks rather than as a doctrinal passage.

What is the symbolic significance?

By pairing civilized regions (Vidarbha) with wilderness zones (Daṇḍaka, āraṇyāḥ) and tribal names (Śabara), the text symbolically unifies ‘village’ and ‘forest’ into one cosmographic vision.