Shloka 18

Sapta-dvīpa Catalog: Plakṣa to Puṣkara, Mānasottara, and the Lokāloka Boundary

Devanagari script

शबलात्पुष्करेशाच्च महावीरश्च धातकिः / अभूद्वर्षद्वयं चैव मानसोत्तरपर्वतः

Transliteration

śabalātpuṣkareśācca mahāvīraśca dhātakiḥ / abhūdvarṣadvayaṃ caiva mānasottaraparvataḥ

Translation

From Śabala and from Puṣkareśa, and from Mahāvīra and Dhātakī as well, there arose two varṣas; and (there is) the Mānasottara mountain.

Word by Word

• शबलात्: from Śabala (name)
• शबलात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शबल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

• पुष्करेशात्: from Puṣkareśa (lord of Puṣkara; name)
• पुष्करेशात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्कर + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• महावीरः: Mahāvīra (name; great hero)
• महावीरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + वीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• धातकिः: Dhātaki (name)
• धातकिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धातकि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• अभूत्: became/was
• अभूत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); परस्मैपद

• वर्षद्वयम्: two years (a pair of years); name/measure
• वर्षद्वयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष + द्वय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

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

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

• मानसोत्तरपर्वतः: Mānasottara mountain (name)
• मानसोत्तरपर्वतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानस + उत्तर + पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The universe is intelligible through ordered categories (nāma-rūpa) and boundaries (maryādā).

Vedantic Theme: Nāma-rūpa as a pedagogic scaffold; recognition of limits (Lokāloka later) hints at the finite within the manifest.

Application: Contemplate boundaries in life (ethical and mental) as analogues of cosmic maryādā; use cosmography as a meditation on order.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: dvīpa-varṣa origin points and boundary mountain

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.56.17 (preceding list); Garuda Purana 1.56.19 (dimensions); Garuda Purana 1.56.21 (Lokāloka boundary)

Characters & Entities

• Śabala
• Puṣkareśa
• Mahāvīra
• Dhātakī
• Mānasottara (mountain)

FAQs

What is the importance of varṣas and Mānasottara in the Garuda Purana?

This verse situates named regions (varṣas) and the Mānasottara mountain within the Purāṇic map of the world, supporting the text’s broader cosmological description.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

It does not directly describe the soul’s journey; instead, it contributes background cosmology that frames later teachings about realms and locations referenced in afterlife narratives.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Use it as a reminder that the Garuda Purana includes both ethics/afterlife doctrine and cosmology—encouraging study with context rather than isolating verses from the larger narrative.