Shloka 19

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

Devanagari script

जम्बूद्वीपस्य सा जम्बूर् नामहेतुर् महामुने महागजप्रमाणानि जम्ब्वास् तस्याः फलानि वै पतन्ति भूभृतः पृष्ठे शीर्यमाणानि सर्वतः

Transliteration

jambūdvīpasya sā jambūr nāmahetur mahāmune mahāgajapramāṇāni jambvās tasyāḥ phalāni vai patanti bhūbhṛtaḥ pṛṣṭhe śīryamāṇāni sarvataḥ

Translation

O great sage, that very Jambū tree is the cause of the name ‘Jambūdvīpa’. From it, fruits the size of mighty elephants fall upon the back of the mountain-bearing earth, bursting and scattering in every direction.

Word by Word

• jambūdvīpasya: of Jambūdvīpa
• jambūdvīpasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jambū + dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जम्बोः द्वीपः)

• sā: that (she/it)
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• jambūḥ: the Jambū tree
• jambūḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jambū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• nāmahetuḥ: the cause of the name
• nāmahetuḥ: Pradhāna-predicative (Predicate nominal/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman + hetu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नाम्नः हेतुः)

• mahāmune: O great sage
• mahāmune: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (महान् मुनिः)

• mahāgajapramāṇāni: of the size of great elephants
• mahāgajapramāṇāni: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + gaja + pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (महागजस्य प्रमाणम्)

• jambvāḥ: of the Jambū (tree)
• jambvāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jambū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• tasyāḥ: of it/of her
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• phalāni: fruits
• phalāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• patanti: fall
• patanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pat (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• bhūbhṛtaḥ: of the mountain (earth-bearer)
• bhūbhṛtaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūbhṛt (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• pṛṣṭhe: on the back/surface
• pṛṣṭhe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• śīryamāṇāni: splitting/bursting
• śīryamāṇāni: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śṝ (धातु) + śīryamāṇa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि-प्रयोगे शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त (Present passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; फलानि इति विशेषणम्

• sarvataḥ: on all sides/everywhere
• sarvataḥ: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Sacred geography and the naming/features of Jambūdvīpa

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Dvipas

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Characters & Entities

• Jambūdvīpa
• Jambū tree

FAQs

What is the significance of the Jambū tree in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse, the Jambū tree is presented as the naming-cause (nāmahetu) of Jambūdvīpa, marking it as a defining cosmic landmark within the Purāṇic map of the world.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the scale of Jambūdvīpa’s features?

Parāśara uses vast, tangible comparisons—here, fruits as large as elephants—to convey the immense, otherworldly scale typical of Purāṇic cosmological description.

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

Though Vishnu is not named in the verse, the cosmography belongs to Vishnu Purāṇa’s vision of an ordered universe—structured and sustained within the supreme governance of Vishnu as the ground of cosmic order.