Shloka 1

भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः

Devanagari script

भगवन् सम्यग् आख्यातं यत् पृष्टो ऽसि मयाखिलम् भूसमुद्रादिसरितां संस्थानं ग्रहसंस्थितिः

Transliteration

bhagavan samyag ākhyātaṃ yat pṛṣṭo 'si mayākhilam bhūsamudrādisaritāṃ saṃsthānaṃ grahasaṃsthitiḥ

Translation

O revered one, you have explained in full and with perfect clarity all that I asked: the ordering of the earth, the arrangement of oceans and rivers, and the abiding of the heavenly bodies in their appointed stations.

Word by Word

• bhagavan: O Lord
• bhagavan: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Case 8), एकवचन

• samyak: properly, correctly
• samyak: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samyak (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb)

• ākhyātam: explained
• ākhyātam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-khyā (आख्या/ख्यै धातु) + ākhyāta (क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (told/explained)

• yat: which (that which)
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Case 2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• pṛṣṭaḥ: asked
• pṛṣṭaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prach (प्रच्छ् धातु) + pṛṣṭa (क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (asked)

• asi: you are
• asi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (Case 3), एकवचन

• akhilam: entire, all
• akhilam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akhila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Case 2), एकवचन; विशेषण

• bhū-samudra-ādi-saritām: of the rivers (etc.) of earth and ocean
• bhū-samudra-ādi-saritām: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक) + samudra (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + sarit (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Case 6), बहुवचन; समासान्त-सम्बन्ध (of the rivers beginning with those on earth and in oceans)

• saṃsthānam: arrangement, configuration
• saṃsthānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• graha-saṃsthitiḥ: the arrangement/positions of the planets
• graha-saṃsthitiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: graha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃsthiti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Case 1), एकवचन; समास (ग्रहाणां संस्थितिः)

Speaker

Maitreya

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Maitreya

Topic: Confirmation of the explained cosmic arrangement: earth, oceans, rivers, and the stations of the heavenly bodies.

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: reverent

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya
• Parasara
• Earth (Bhū)
• Oceans (Samudra)
• Rivers (Sarit)
• Grahas (celestial bodies/planets)

FAQs

What is the significance of cosmology (Bhuvana-Kosha) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse marks the closing acknowledgment that the Purana’s cosmology is not mere geography/astronomy but a coherent account of ordered reality—an intelligible universe governed by higher law.

How does Sage Parasara explain universal order in this section?

Through systematic description—earth’s configuration, oceans and river systems, and the fixed stations of the grahas—showing a structured cosmos rather than a random world.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the ordered placement of worlds and grahas implies a supreme regulator; the cosmological ‘order’ functions as a theological sign of Vishnu’s sovereignty over creation.