Shloka 17

भारतवर्षमहात्म्यम् — कर्मभूमित्वम्, नवभेदाः, कुलपर्वताः-नद्यः-जनपदाः, युगचक्रविशेषः, यज्ञपुरुषविष्णुपूजा

Devanagari script

कारूषा मालवाश् चैव पारियात्रनिवासिनः सौवीराः सैन्धवा हूणाः साल्वाः शाकलवासिनः

Transliteration

kārūṣā mālavāś caiva pāriyātranivāsinaḥ sauvīrāḥ saindhavā hūṇāḥ sālvāḥ śākalavāsinaḥ

Translation

Da sind die Kārūṣas und die Mālavas; jene, die am Pāriyātra-Gebirge wohnen; die Sauvīras und die Saindhavas; die Hūṇas; die Sālvās; und die Bewohner von Śākala—so lauten die in dieser Gegend genannten Völker.

Word by Word

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• वासिनः: dwellers
• वासिनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: √वस् (धातु) + वासिन् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकालिक-कृदन्त (agent noun), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Continuing the geographic catalogue: peoples tied to mountain ranges and frontier tracts

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas (regions)

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Characters & Entities

• Kārūṣas
• Mālavas
• Pāriyātra (mountain range)
• Sauvīras
• Saindhavas
• Hūṇas
• Sālvās
• Śākala (region/city)

FAQs

What is the significance of listing janapadas (peoples/regions) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse participates in the Purana’s sacred geography, mapping human communities onto a divinely ordered world, showing Bharata-varsha as an organized realm within Vishnu’s cosmic governance.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the world in this section of the Vishnu Purana?

Parāśara answers Maitreya by systematically naming mountains, regions, and peoples, presenting geography as part of the Purāṇic cosmological framework rather than a purely political list.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the ordered enumeration reflects the Purana’s premise that the universe—including lands and peoples—rests within Vishnu’s sustaining sovereignty and dharmic structure.