Shloka 14

Matsya Purana — Cosmography of Śākadvīpa and Successive Dvīpas: Mountains

Devanagari script

रत्नमालान्तरमयः शाल्मलश्चान्तरालकृत् तस्यापरेण रजतो महानस्तो गिरिः स्मृतः //

Transliteration

ratnamālāntaramayaḥ śālmalaścāntarālakṛt tasyāpareṇa rajato mahānasto giriḥ smṛtaḥ //

Translation

Between the mountain-ranges, as though garlanded with jewels, lies the Śālmala forest forming the intervening tract; and beyond it is remembered the silver mountain called Mahānasta.

Word by Word

• रत्नमाला-अन्तर-मयः: consisting of intervals (antaras) of jewel-garlands / jewel-linked stretches

• शाल्मलः: the Śālmala (silk-cotton) forest/region

• च: and

• अन्तराल-कृत्: making/constituting the intermediate space

• तस्य: of that / beyond it

• अपरेण: on the farther side / further beyond

• रजतः: silver (or silvery)

• महानस्तः: Mahānasta (proper name of a mountain)

• गिरिः: mountain

• स्मृतः: is remembered/recorded (in tradition).

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (teaching cosmography to Vaivasvata Manu)

Entities Mentioned

• Śālmala (forest/region)
• Mahānasta (mountain)
• Rajata (silver mountain)

Tags

• Sacred geography
• Cosmography
• Puranic mountains
• Jambudvipa
• Topography

FAQs

What does this verse reveal about the creation or dissolution (Pralaya)?

This verse is not about Pralaya directly; it preserves cosmographic tradition by mapping sacred terrain—forests and named mountains—used in Purāṇic world-description rather than dissolution narrative.

How does this verse relate to the duties of a King or Householder?

Indirectly, such geography underpins pilgrimage, territorial imagination, and dharmic kingship: a ruler is expected to protect sacred landscapes and support rites connected to tīrthas and holy regions described in Purāṇic cosmography.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

The verse itself is topographical, but cosmographic directions and landmark-mountains are often used to frame ritual orientation and sacred mapping—useful for correlating temple-site symbolism with Purāṇic geography in Matsya Purāṇa studies.