Shloka 19

प्रियव्रतवंशवर्णनम् — सप्तद्वीपविभागः, जम्बूद्वीप-वर्षविभागः, भरत-नामकरणम्

Devanagari script

इलावृताय प्रददौ मेरुर् यत्र तु मध्यमे नीलाचलाश्रितं वर्षं रम्याय प्रददौ पिता

Transliteration

ilāvṛtāya pradadau merur yatra tu madhyame nīlācalāśritaṃ varṣaṃ ramyāya pradadau pitā

Translation

In the very center, where Mount Meru stands, he assigned Ilāvṛta as Ilāvṛta’s domain; and the varṣa sheltered by Nīlācala the father bestowed upon Ramya.

Word by Word

• इलावृताय: to Ilāvṛta
• इलावृताय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इलावृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रददौ: gave, bestowed
• प्रददौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-दा (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मेरुः: Meru (mountain)
• मेरुः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विशेषणार्थक/विरोधार्थक अव्यय

• मध्यमे: in the middle
• मध्यमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (locative: in the middle)

• नील-अचल-आश्रितम्: resting on the Nīla mountain
• नील-अचल-आश्रितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नील (प्रातिपदिक) + अचल (प्रातिपदिक) + आश्रित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (नीलाचलम् आश्रितम् = resting on the Nīla mountain); आश्रित = क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) from आ-श्रि (धातु)

• वर्षम्: region, varṣa
• वर्षम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• रम्याय: to Ramya
• रम्याय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (नाम)

• प्रददौ: gave, bestowed
• प्रददौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-दा (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पिता: the father
• पिता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Centrality of Meru and the placement of Ilāvṛta and adjacent varṣas.

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing (center-periphery structure)

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The cosmos is organized around a sacred center (Meru), indicating that worldly multiplicity has an orienting principle and hierarchy.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Keep a ‘center’ in life—daily sādhana, mantra, or worship—around which duties and pursuits are arranged, preventing dispersion.

Vishishtadvaita: Nārāyaṇa as the implicit ground of cosmic order: the centered universe suggests a single sustaining Lord in whom all regions subsist as dependent realities (śeṣa-śeṣi-bhāva).

Dynasty & Genealogy

Dharma Exemplar: Axis-centered order (Meru as dhruva-like stabilizer of the world-map)

Key Kings: Ilāvṛta, Ramya

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Characters & Entities

• Ilāvṛta
• Meru
• Nīlācala
• Ramya

FAQs

What is the significance of Ilāvṛta in the Vishnu Purana?

Ilāvṛta is presented as the central varṣa of Jambūdvīpa, defined by the presence of Mount Meru at its middle, marking it as the axis-region of the Purāṇic world-map.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the division of the world in this passage?

Parāśara narrates a systematic allotment of varṣas (regions), identifying each by its natural cosmic markers—such as Meru at the center and mountain ranges like Nīlācala as boundaries—showing an ordered, intelligible cosmos.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even in geographic description, the Purāṇa implies a cosmos governed by higher sovereignty: the world’s divisions are not random but structured—reflecting the ordered reality upheld by Vishnu as the supreme sustaining principle.