Varaha Purana 80.5: Adhyaya 80, Shloka 5

Cosmographic Ordering of the Southern and Western Quarters: Valleys, Forest-Plateaus, and Sacred Sites

Devanagari script

सुमूलस्याचलेन्द्रस्य वसुधारस्य चान्तरे । त्रिंशद्योजनविस्तीर्णे पञ्चाशद्योजनायते ॥५॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 80.5

Transliteration

sumūlasyācalendrasya vasudhārasya cāntare | triṃśad-yojana-vistīrṇe pañcāśad-yojanāyate ||5||

Translation

Zwischen dem festverwurzelten Herrn der Berge und der Vasudhārā, der Erden-Trägerin, erstreckt es sich dreißig Yojanas in der Breite und fünfzig Yojanas in der Länge.

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Word by Word

• सुमूलस्य: of Sumūla
• सुमूलस्य: Shashthi-Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुमूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; (अचलेन्द्रस्य) विशेषण/नाम

• अचल-इन्द्रस्य: of the mountain-lord
• अचल-इन्द्रस्य: Shashthi-Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अचल (प्रातिपदिक) + इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘of the lord of mountains’

• वसुधारस्य: of Vasudhāra
• वसुधारस्य: Shashthi-Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुधार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक

• अन्तरे: in between
• अन्तरे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• त्रिंशत्-योजन-विस्तीर्णे: (in a place) thirty yojanas wide
• त्रिंशत्-योजन-विस्तीर्णे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रिंशत् (संख्या) + योजन (प्रातिपदिक) + विस्तीर्ण (कृदन्त, वि+स्तॄ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग? सप्तमी, एकवचन; स्थानवाचक विशेषण (elliptic: ‘(देशे/सरे) त्रिंशद्योजनविस्तीर्णे’)

• पञ्चाशत्-योजन-आयते: (in a place) fifty yojanas long
• पञ्चाशत्-योजन-आयते: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्चाशत् (संख्या) + योजन (प्रातिपदिक) + आयत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग? सप्तमी, एकवचन; स्थानवाचक विशेषण (elliptic) ‘fifty yojanas long’

Speaker

Varāha (default speaker per dialogue framework; explicit speaker not stated in the fragment)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Ancient Geography
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a Purāṇic mode of describing space using yojana-based dimensions, useful for comparing textual geography with broader Indic cosmographic and topographic traditions.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific named site is given in this isolated verse; it describes an extent ‘between’ a chief mountain and the supporting earth/ground, suggesting a topographical interval rather than a clearly identifiable modern location.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive; its philosophical emphasis lies in portraying the ordered structure of the world through measured, intelligible dimensions.