Shloka 42

सप्तद्वीप-सप्तसमुद्र-वर्णनम् तथा प्रियव्रतवंश-राज्यविभागः

Devanagari script

सप्त मेधातिथेः पुत्राः प्लक्षद्वीपेश्वरा नृपाः ज्येष्ठः शान्तभयस्तेषां सप्तवर्षाणि तानि वै

Transliteration

sapta medhātitheḥ putrāḥ plakṣadvīpeśvarā nṛpāḥ jyeṣṭhaḥ śāntabhayasteṣāṃ saptavarṣāṇi tāni vai

Translation

Medhātithi had seven sons, kings who ruled as lords of Plakṣadvīpa. Of them, the eldest was Śāntabhaya; and those regions are indeed seven varṣas (sub-lands).

Word by Word

• सप्त (sapta): seven

• मेधातिथेः (medhātitheḥ): of Medhātithi

• पुत्राः (putrāḥ): sons

• प्लक्षद्वीपेश्वराः (plakṣadvīpeśvarāḥ): rulers/lords of Plakṣa-dvīpa

• नृपाः (nṛpāḥ): kings

• ज्येष्ठः (jyeṣṭhaḥ): the eldest

• शान्तभयः (śāntabhayaḥ): Śāntabhaya (name, ‘one whose fear is pacified’)

• तेषाम् (teṣām): of them

• सप्तवर्षाणि (sapta-varṣāṇi): seven varṣas/regions

• तानि (tāni): those

• वै (vai): indeed/verily.

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating the Purana to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Medhātithi
• Plaksha-dvipa
• Shantabhaya

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It situates Shiva’s Purana within a mapped cosmos—showing that the ordered worlds (dvīpas and varṣas) are part of the manifested domain (pāśa) in which the pashu performs dharma and Shiva-puja toward liberation under Pati, Shiva.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

Indirectly: by presenting the structured creation, it implies Shiva-tattva as the transcendent Pati who is beyond the divided regions, while the cosmos described here belongs to the field of manifestation traversed by bound souls (pashu).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No specific puja-vidhi or Pashupata Yoga limb is stated; the takeaway is cosmological orientation—creation’s order as the setting where vows, charity, and Shiva-upasana are undertaken for loosening pāśa (bondage).