Varaha Purana 75.77: Adhyaya 75, Shloka 77

Description of Jambūdvīpa: its regions, mountains, measurements, and cosmic structure

Pūrva Bhāga · Sacred Geography and Regional Enumeration

Devanagari script

त्रिंशद्योजनसाहस्रं चक्रपाटो नगोत्तमः । जारुधिश्चैव शैलेन्द्र इत्येते उत्तराः स्मृताः ॥ ७५.७७ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 75.77

Transliteration

triṁśad-yojana-sāhasraṁ cakrapāṭo nagottamaḥ | jārudhiś caiva śailendra ity ete uttarāḥ smṛtāḥ || 75.77 ||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

Cakrapāṭa, der vorzüglichste der Berge, erstreckt sich über dreißigtausend Yojanas; und Jārudhi ist gleichfalls ein Herr der Berge—diese gelten als die nördlichen (Berge/Regionen).

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Word by Word

• triṁśat-yojana-sāhasram: a thousand (extent) of thirty-yojanas
• Type: Adjective
• Form: समासः: द्विगु (triṁśad-yojanānāṁ sāhasram) । नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; परिमाणवाचक (measure)
• Role: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Root: triṁśat (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + yojana (प्रातिपदिक) + sāhasra (प्रातिपदिक)

• cakrapāṭaḥ: Cakrapāṭa (name)
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-नाम)
• Root: cakrapāṭa (प्रातिपदिक)

• naga-uttamaḥ: the best of mountains
• Type: Noun
• Form: समासः: कर्मधारय (uttamo nagaḥ) । पुल्लिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; cakrapāṭaḥ इत्यस्य विशेषण/अप्पोजिशन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: naga (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)

• jārudhiḥ: Jārudhi (name)
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-नाम)
• Root: jārudhi (प्रातिपदिक)

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)
• Role: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Root: ca (अव्यय)

• eva: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)
• Role: Avadharana (अवधारण)
• Root: eva (अव्यय)

• śailendraḥ: Śailendra (lord of mountains; name)
• Type: Noun
• Form: समासः: तत्पुरुष (śailānām indraḥ) । पुल्लिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-नाम)
• Root: śaila (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)

• iti: thus/namely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: अव्यय; इति-शब्दः (quotative/marker of enumeration)
• Role: Prayojaka (उद्धरण/इति-समाप्ति)
• Root: iti (अव्यय)

• ete: these
• Type: Noun
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचन
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)

• uttarāḥ: northern
• Type: Adjective
• Form: विशेषणम्; पुल्लिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (ete इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)
• Role: Karta (कर्ता)
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)

• smṛtāḥ: are said/are remembered
• Type: Verb
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP); पुल्लिङ्गे, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे ‘(they are) said/remembered’
• Role: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + ta (क्त प्रत्यय)

Sandhi Notes

• triṁśad-yojana-sāhasram इति समास (द्विगु) । jārudhiś caiva = jārudhiḥ + ca + eva (विसर्ग-लोपः/श्च)।

Speaker and setting

Adbhuta and Shanta rasaSetting: Cosmic mountain ranges

Speaker

Varāha

Bhu Devi and Varaha

In this verse

Varaha teaches her

Her state of mind

Curious

The teaching

Path

Cosmological Methodological

Subjects

GeographyHeritage SitesCosmology

Core idea

Sacred knowledge is transmitted through ordered enumeration (nāma + pramāṇa), making the cosmos intelligible and rememberable.

In practice

Approach tradition with sequence and measure: learn names, directions, and proportions as a discipline of attention (smṛti) rather than mere data.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Geography
• Ancient Indian Measures
• Vaiṣṇavism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a Purāṇic-style geographic catalogue using traditional distance units (yojana), reflecting how early Sanskrit compendia organized regional knowledge through named mountains and directional groupings.

Which geographic location is identified?

The verse names Cakrapāṭa and Jārudhi as northern entities; their precise modern identifications are uncertain in the absence of corroborating regional glosses or matching toponyms in parallel Purāṇic lists.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive; its philosophical value lies in documenting a cultural-geographic memory of landscapes as structured, named heritage within a broader cosmographic framework.