Shloka 25

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

Devanagari script

एषा वसुमती तस्य खुराग्रक्षतकर्बुरा

Transliteration

eṣā vasumatī tasya khurāgrakṣatakarburā

Translation

This Earth—rich in all treasures—became mottled with the wounds of his hoof-tips, scarred by their sharp points.

Word by Word

• एषा: this (she/this one)
• एषा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम-शब्द (pronoun)

• वसुमती: the earth
• वसुमती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुमती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम-शब्द

• खुराग्रक्षतकर्बुरा: mottled with marks from the tips of (his) hooves
• खुराग्रक्षतकर्बुरा: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: खुर-अग्र-क्षत-कर्बुरा (प्रातिपदिक); खुर (hoof) + अग्र (tip) + क्षत (wounded/marked) + कर्बुरा (spotted)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifier)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Sacred geography and the ordering of Bhūmi (earth) within Priyavrata’s lineage context

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Avatara Context

Avatara: Varaha

Purpose: Varāha bears up and stabilizes the Earth when she is imperiled, restoring the proper ordering of the worlds.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Stability of Bhūmi and the re-establishment of cosmic order (loka-saṃsthā)

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Lakshmi Presence: Bhumi

Characters & Entities

• Earth (Vasumatī/Bhūmi)
• Vishnu (implied as the divine agent sustaining/order of the world, often via Varāha imagery in this context)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Earth being marked by hoof-wounds in the Vishnu Purana?

It conveys that the Earth’s stability is achieved through a forceful, divine intervention—her very ‘scars’ testify to being borne, rescued, and ordered by a transcendent power rather than by chance.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic order through physical imagery like wounds and marks?

Parāśara uses concrete, bodily imagery to make metaphysical governance visible: the world’s arrangement is not abstract—it is enacted and maintained by the Lord’s effective power within creation.

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

Even when Vishnu is not explicitly named, the verse reflects Vaishnava cosmology: the Supreme Reality actively sustains and secures the Earth, showing sovereignty that underlies all structures of the universe.