Shloka 5

Matsya Purana — Cosmography of Śākadvīpa and Successive Dvīpas: Mountains

Devanagari script

शाकद्वीपादिषु त्वेषु सप्त सप्त नगास् त्रिषु ऋज्वायताः प्रतिदिशं निविष्टा वर्षपर्वताः //

Transliteration

śākadvīpādiṣu tveṣu sapta sapta nagās triṣu ṛjvāyatāḥ pratidiśaṃ niviṣṭā varṣaparvatāḥ //

Translation

In Śākadvīpa and the other continents, in each of the three divisions there are seven and seven mountain ranges—straight and extended—set in place toward every direction; these are the Varṣa-mountains that mark off the regions.

Word by Word

शाकद्वीप-आदिषुin Śākadvīpa and the other dvīpas (continents)

तुindeed

एषुin these

सप्त सप्तseven each (seven and seven)

नगाःmountains

त्रिषुin the three (divisions/sections)

ऋजु-आयताःstraight and elongated/extended

प्रति-दिशम्toward each direction / in every direction

निविष्टाःplaced, stationed, arranged

वर्ष-पर्वताःVarṣa-mountains (ranges that demarcate the varṣas/regions).

Speaker

Sūta (Purāṇic narrator) conveying the Matsya Purāṇa’s cosmography (traditional frame: dialogue lineage ultimately rooted in Matsya’s instruction to Manu).

Entities Mentioned

ŚākadvīpaDvīpasVarṣaparvatas

FAQs

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

This verse is not about Pralaya; it belongs to the Matsya Purāṇa’s cosmography and explains how continents are structured by Varṣa-mountains that divide regions.

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

Indirectly, it supports dharma by presenting an ordered cosmic geography: a king’s realm and rituals are ideally aligned with a well-ordered universe, and pilgrimage/territorial imagination in Purāṇas rests on such mapped divisions.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu rule is stated, but the idea of orderly directional placement (pratidiśam) echoes the wider Purāṇic preference for directionally aligned layouts in sacred planning and ritual orientation.