Shloka 11

भू-मण्डलसंक्षेपवर्णनम् — सप्तद्वीप-सप्तसमुद्राः, मेरु-मानम्, गङ्गावतरणम्, देववन-सरोवर-लोकपालपुर्यः

Devanagari script

हिमवान् हेमकूटश् च निषधश् चास्य दक्षिणे नीलः श्वेतश् च शृङ्गी च उत्तरे वर्षपर्वताः

Transliteration

himavān hemakūṭaś ca niṣadhaś cāsya dakṣiṇe nīlaḥ śvetaś ca śṛṅgī ca uttare varṣaparvatāḥ

Translation

To its south stand the great boundary-mountains—Himavān, Hemakūṭa, and Niṣadha; and to its north rise Nīla, Śveta, and Śṛṅgī—these are the Varṣa-mountains that uphold the ordered divisions of the earth.

Word by Word

• हिमवान्: Himavān (Himalaya)
• हिमवान्: Karta (Member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिमवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• हेमकूटः: Hemakūṭa (Golden Peak)
• हेमकूटः: Karta (Member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेम (प्रातिपदिक) + कूट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (हेमस्य कूटः)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• निषधः: Niṣadha (mountain)
• निषधः: Karta (Member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निषध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• अस्य: of this / its
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• दक्षिणे: in the south
• दक्षिणे: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (दक्षिणे = दक्षिणभागे)

• नीलः: Nīla (mountain)
• नीलः: Karta (Member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नील (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• श्वेतः: Śveta (mountain)
• श्वेतः: Karta (Member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वेत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• शृङ्गी: Śṛṅgī (mountain)
• शृङ्गी: Karta (Member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शृङ्गिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (प्रातिपदिक: शृङ्गिन्; रूप: शृङ्गी)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• उत्तरे: in the north
• उत्तरे: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (उत्तरे = उत्तरभागे)

• वर्षपर्वताः: the Varṣa-mountains (mountains of the regions)
• वर्षपर्वताः: Karta (Predicate/collective subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (वर्षाणां पर्वताः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Names and placement of the varṣa-parvatas (boundary mountains) south and north of Meru

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: cataloguing, authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Himavān (Himalaya)
• Hemakūṭa
• Niṣadha
• Nīla
• Śveta
• Śṛṅgī

FAQs

What is the significance of the Varṣa-parvatas in the Vishnu Purana?

They are the boundary mountain-ranges that demarcate and stabilize the divisions of the earth (varṣas), presenting geography as an expression of cosmic order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain sacred geography to Maitreya here?

Parāśara enumerates the mountain ranges by direction (south and north) to situate a specific region within the larger map of Jambūdvīpa, building a systematic cosmological description.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic worldview treats the world’s ordered structure—its boundaries and divisions—as upheld within Vishnu’s supreme governance of the cosmos.