Vamana Purana — Structure of Jambudvipa, Shloka 58
The Structure of Jambudvipa: Nine Varshas, Navadvipa Bharata, Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples
इमे तवोक्ता विषयाः सुविस्तराद् द्विपे कुमारे रजनीचरेश एतेषु देशेषु च देशधर्मान् संकीर्त्यमानाञ् शृणु तत्त्वातो हि
ime tavoktā viṣayāḥ suvistarād dvipe kumāre rajanīcareśa eteṣu deśeṣu ca deśadharmān saṃkīrtyamānāñ śṛṇu tattvāto hi
These provinces have been described to you at length in the Kumāra-dvīpa, O lord of the night-wanderers. Now hear, in truth, the regional customs and laws (deśa-dharmas) as they are being recounted for these lands.
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Dharma is presented as context-sensitive: alongside universal ideals, the Purāṇa recognizes ‘deśa-dharma’—norms shaped by place, people, and conditions—urging the listener to understand them ‘tattvataḥ’ (accurately).
Still within Sthāna (regional description), but it explicitly bridges into dharma-śāstric material by promising an account of local customs; it is a structural hinge from geography to normative practice.
Addressing even a ‘rajanīcareśa’ (lord of nocturnal beings) suggests the Purāṇic impulse to universalize instruction: knowledge of order (dharma) is offered across boundaries of species/community, reinforcing a cosmos governed by intelligible norms.