Shloka 16
प्रियव्रतवंशवर्णनम् — सप्तद्वीपविभागः, जम्बूद्वीप-वर्षविभागः, भरत-नामकरणम्
नाभिः किंपुरुषश् चैव हरिवर्ष इलावृतः रम्यो हिरण्वान् षष्ठस् तु कुरुर् भद्राश्व एव च केतुमालस् तथैवान्यः साधुचेष्टो नृपो ऽभवत्
nābhiḥ kiṃpuruṣaś caiva harivarṣa ilāvṛtaḥ ramyo hiraṇvān ṣaṣṭhas tu kurur bhadrāśva eva ca ketumālas tathaivānyaḥ sādhuceṣṭo nṛpo 'bhavat
Nābhi, Kimpuruṣa, Harivarṣa, and Ilāvṛta; Ramya and Hiraṇvān as the sixth; and also Kuru, Bhadrāśva, and Ketumāla—these are the named varṣa-divisions. And there arose another king, famed for righteous conduct, a worthy ruler and establisher.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Names and ordering of the nine varṣas of Jambūdvīpa and their rulers.
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: cataloguing, clarificatory
Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas
Concept: Right rulership (sādhu-ceṣṭā) sustains the ordered world just as geographic divisions sustain cosmic intelligibility.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Treat leadership roles—family, civic, professional—as dharma-bearing trusts: administer fairly, avoid arbitrariness, and honor boundaries and responsibilities.
Vishishtadvaita: Cosmic order is not impersonal; it is a governed order where beings and regions function as parts (aṃśas) within the Lord’s overarching niyati (regulative will).
Dharma Exemplar: Sādhu-ceṣṭā (righteous conduct) as the ideal of a regional ruler
Key Kings: Nābhi
FAQs
The verse lists key varṣas (divisions) of Jambūdvīpa, presenting the cosmos as an ordered, intelligible realm—an outward sign of divine governance and dharmic structure.
By enumerating specific varṣas and associating them with rightful rule, Parāśara frames sacred geography as a moral-cosmic arrangement where regions are sustained by dharma, not mere physical space.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic mapping implies a universe held together by a supreme ordering principle—Vishnu as the sovereign ground in which structure, kingship, and harmony cohere.