Shloka 16
अम्बष्ठद्रविडा लाटाः काम्भोजा स्त्रीमुखाः शकाः / आनर्तवासिनश्चैव ज्ञेया यक्षिणपश्चिमे
ambaṣṭhadraviḍā lāṭāḥ kāmbhojā strīmukhāḥ śakāḥ / ānartavāsinaścaiva jñeyā yakṣiṇapaścime
The Ambaṣṭhas, Draviḍas, Lāṭas, Kāmbhojas, the Strīmukhas, the Śakas, and also the inhabitants of Ānarta—these are to be known as dwelling in the Yakṣiṇa, the south‑western region.
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Concept: Knowledge (jñāna in the sense of correct identification) of peoples and regions is part of learned tradition and supports orderly discourse.
Vedantic Theme: Pramāṇa in vyavahāra: correct knowing and naming reduces confusion (moha) in worldly dealings.
Application: When encountering ethnonyms in texts, map them to directional clusters and note that some names may be broad/overlapping across periods.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: directional region (south‑west) with peoples/kingdoms
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.55.15; Garuda Purana 1.55.12
FAQs
This verse illustrates Purāṇic cosmography by mapping communities to a specific quarter (southwest), a framework often used to organize sacred geography and traditional descriptions of the world.
It does not directly describe the soul’s journey; instead, it provides geographic classification within the Purāṇic worldview that forms the broader setting in which other teachings (rituals, afterlife descriptions) are presented.
Use it as contextual background for studying Garuda Purana’s cosmology—helpful when reading passages that reference directions, regions, or traditional world-mapping in ritual and narrative sections.