Shloka 49

वाराहावतारः (भूम्युद्धारः) — Varāha, the Raising of the Earth and the Recommencement of Creation

Devanagari script

भूविभागं ततः कृत्वा सप्तद्वीपं यथातथम् भूराद्यांश् चतुरो लोकान् पूर्ववत् समकल्पयत्

Transliteration

bhūvibhāgaṃ tataḥ kṛtvā saptadvīpaṃ yathātatham bhūrādyāṃś caturo lokān pūrvavat samakalpayat

Translation

Then, having apportioned the earth—establishing the seven island-continents in their proper order—he also reconstituted, as before, the four worlds beginning with Bhūḥ, restoring the cosmos to its ordained pattern.

Word by Word

• भूविभागम्: division of the earth
• भूविभागम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू + विभाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (भूः विभागः); पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रमवाचक/ततः-शब्दः (then, thereafter)

• कृत्वा: having made/done
• कृत्वा: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कृत्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having done)

• सप्तद्वीपम्: the seven islands/continents
• सप्तद्वीपम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्त + द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (सप्त द्वीपाः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन (समूहवाचक)

• यथा: as, according to
• यथा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/प्रकारवाचक (as, according to)

• तथम्: thus, accordingly
• तथम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (thus, in that manner)

• भूः: earth (Bhū)
• भूः: Samāsa-pūrvapada (compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासे पूर्वपद-रूपे (in bhūrādyān)

• आद्य: beginning, first
• आद्य: Samāsa-aṅga (compound member)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आद्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; समासे (आद्य-); अर्थः 'beginning/first'

• भूराद्यान्: beginning with Bhū (earth)
• भूराद्यान्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भू + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (भूः आदिः येषाम् = 'beginning with Bhū'); पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (लोकान्)

• चतुरः: four
• चतुरः: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषणम् (लोकान्)

• लोकान्: worlds
• लोकान्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• पूर्ववत्: as before
• पूर्ववत्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्ववत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तुलनावाचक (as before, as previously)

• समकल्पयत्: arranged, set in order
• समकल्पयत्: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + कल्पय्/कॢप् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the earth and worlds are reconstituted after dissolution

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: systematic

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Cosmic Hierarchy: Dvipas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The cosmos is not random: earth’s divisions (saptadvīpa) and the lokas are restored ‘as before,’ revealing an intelligible, repeatable divine order.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Use cosmological order as a contemplative aid: align daily life with dharma through regularity, discipline, and reverence for structure.

Vishishtadvaita: The world’s structured plurality is upheld as a real, divinely ordered mode (prakāra) of the Supreme.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Bhūḥ
• Sapta-dvīpa

FAQs

What is the significance of the seven dvīpas in the Vishnu Purana?

They present a sacred-geographical model of the earth, showing that the world is not random but structured in a deliberate cosmic order that supports dharma and ritual imagination.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the arrangement of lokas in this context?

Parāśara frames the lokas as a pre-established hierarchy—“as before”—indicating continuity of an ordained cosmic template rather than an improvised creation.

What is Lord Vishnu’s theological importance in this verse’s cosmology?

Even when not named directly, the act of restoring the world’s divisions points to Vishnu’s supremacy as the sustaining intelligence that maintains and re-establishes the universe’s lawful structure.