Shloka 6

मैत्रेयप्रश्नः—पुराणसंहिताप्रतिज्ञा च

Maitreya’s Questions and Parāśara’s Resolve to Teach

Devanagari script

यत्प्रमाणानि भूतानि देवादीनां च संभवम् समुद्रपर्वतानां च संस्थानं च यथा भुवः

Transliteration

yatpramāṇāni bhūtāni devādīnāṃ ca saṃbhavam samudraparvatānāṃ ca saṃsthānaṃ ca yathā bhuvaḥ

Translation

Tell me the measures of all beings, the origin of the gods and the rest, and the ordered disposition of oceans and mountains—how the earth itself is constituted.

Word by Word

• yat: which/that (whose/which)
• yat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-विशेषण (relative pronoun used adjectivally)

• pramāṇāni: measures, dimensions
• pramāṇāni: Karma/Pradhana-vishaya (Object/topic/कर्म-विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• bhūtāni: beings, elements
• bhūtāni: Karma/Pradhana-vishaya (Object/topic/कर्म-विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक; √bhū (धातु) से निष्पन्न)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• devādīnām: of the gods and others
• devādīnām: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; देव-आदि = 'देवाः आदयः' (and others beginning with gods)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• saṃbhavam: origin, coming into being
• saṃbhavam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक; √bhū (धातु) + सम् उपसर्ग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• samudraparvatānām: of oceans and mountains
• samudraparvatānām: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samudra + parvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्व/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वार्थे 'समुद्राश्च पर्वताश्च'

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• saṃsthānam: arrangement, configuration
• saṃsthānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsthāna (प्रातिपदिक; √sthā (धातु) + सम् उपसर्ग)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• yathā: as, in what manner
• yathā: Prakaraṇa (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/रीति-वाचक (adverb: 'as, according to')

• bhuvaḥ: of the earth/world
• bhuvaḥ: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhuvan / bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (भुवः = भुवः/भुवनस्य अर्थे)

Speaker

Maitreya (questioning Sage Parasara)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Maitreya

Topic: Measures/proportions of beings; origin of devas; arrangement of oceans and mountains; constitution of the earth

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: inquisitive, systematic

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Bhuloka geography (samudra-parvata-saṃsthāna)

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya
• Devas (gods)
• Bhū (Earth)
• Samudras (oceans)
• Parvatas (mountains)

FAQs

What is the significance of cosmological measurements (pramāṇa) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse sets the agenda for describing the ordered structure of creation—how beings, gods, and the world’s geography have definite measures and arrangement within a divinely governed cosmos.

How does Sage Parasara explain the origin of the gods and beings?

Maitreya explicitly requests the account of their saṃbhava (origin); Parasara’s response (in the surrounding passage) unfolds creation as a structured emanation within the Purana’s cosmological framework.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Although Vishnu is not named in this line, the inquiry concerns the ordered constitution of the universe—an order that the Vishnu Purana ultimately grounds in Vishnu as the supreme principle who sustains and regulates creation.