Shloka 1
Matsya Purana — Cosmography of Jambūdvīpa: Varṣas
*ऋषय ऊचुः कति द्वीपाः समुद्रा वा पर्वता वा कति प्रभो कियन्ति चैव वर्षाणि तेषु नद्यश्च काः स्मृताः //
*ṛṣaya ūcuḥ kati dvīpāḥ samudrā vā parvatā vā kati prabho kiyanti caiva varṣāṇi teṣu nadyaśca kāḥ smṛtāḥ //
The sages said: “O Lord, how many continents (dvīpas) are there, and how many oceans and mountains? How many regions (varṣas) are there as well—and which rivers are traditionally remembered within them?”
FAQs
This verse is not about Pralaya; it opens a cosmographic inquiry, asking for the traditional enumeration of continents, oceans, mountains, regions (varṣas), and rivers—i.e., the ordered structure of the world.
Indirectly, it frames a sacred-geography worldview used in Purāṇic dharma: knowing the land’s divisions, holy rivers, and regions supports pilgrimage (tīrtha), ritual purity, and a king’s ideal of ruling in harmony with the cosmic order.
No direct Vāstu rule appears here, but the focus on rivers, mountains, and regions underpins ritual geography—where temples, tīrthas, and settlements are ideally aligned with sacred landscapes described in Purāṇic cosmography.