Shloka 11

सप्तद्वीप-समुद्र-प्रमाणम्: प्लक्षादि-द्वीपवर्णनं, लोकालोक-सीमा, चन्द्र-समुद्र-वृद्धिक्षयः

Devanagari script

अनुतप्ता शिखी चैव विपाशा त्रिदिवा क्रमुः अमृता सुकृता चैव सप्तैतास् तत्र निम्नगाः

Transliteration

anutaptā śikhī caiva vipāśā tridivā kramuḥ amṛtā sukṛtā caiva saptaitās tatra nimnagāḥ

Translation

Dort fließen ebenfalls sieben heilige Ströme: Anutaptā und Śikhī; Vipāśā und Tridivā; Kramu; sowie Amṛtā und Sukṛtā. Diese sieben abwärts fließenden Wasser tragen und nähren jenes Land auf ihrem Lauf.

Word by Word

• अनुतप्ता: Anutaptā (name of a river)
• अनुतप्ता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुतप्ता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नदी-नाम (proper noun)

• शिखी: Śikhī (name of a river)
• शिखी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नदी-नाम (proper noun)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha/Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• विपाशा: Vipāśā (name of a river)
• विपाशा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विपाशा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नदी-नाम (proper noun)

• त्रिदिवा: Tridivā (name of a river)
• त्रिदिवा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिदिवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नदी-नाम (proper noun)

• क्रमुः: Kramuḥ (name of a river)
• क्रमुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रमुः (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नदी-नाम (proper noun)

• अमृता: Amṛtā (name of a river)
• अमृता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमृता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नदी-नाम (proper noun)

• सुकृता: Sukṛtā (name of a river)
• सुकृता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुकृता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नदी-नाम (proper noun)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha/Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• सप्त: seven
• सप्त: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-विशेषण (numeral adjective), अव्ययवत् प्रयोग; एताः इति सह स्त्रीलिङ्ग-बहुवचनार्थे

• एताः: these (f.)
• एताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• निम्नगाः: rivers (flowing downward)
• निम्नगाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निम्नगा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सामान्य-नाम (rivers)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Sacred geography of the dvīpas—principal mountains and rivers sustaining the regions

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Dvipas

Characters & Entities

• Sage Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Anutaptā (river)
• Śikhī (river)
• Vipāśā (river)
• Tridivā (river)
• Kramu (river)
• Amṛtā (river)
• Sukṛtā (river)

FAQs

What is the significance of listing rivers in the Vishnu Purana?

The river lists function as sacred cosmography—showing how the world is structured and sustained, with rivers portrayed as life-giving channels within the divinely ordered universe.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the world’s order in this section?

Parāśara presents geography as part of cosmic law: lands are defined by mountains and nourished by named rivers, reflecting an intelligible, hierarchical order ultimately upheld by Vishnu.

What is Lord Vishnu’s theological importance in this context of rivers and geography?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the cosmological catalog serves Vaishnava theology by depicting creation as a coherent system—an expression of Vishnu’s supreme governance and sustaining power.