Shloka 26

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

Devanagari script

शीतअम्भश् च कुमुन्दश् च कुररी माल्यवांस् तथा वैकङ्कप्रमुखा मेरोः पूर्वतः केसराचलाः

Transliteration

śītaambhaś ca kumundaś ca kurarī mālyavāṃs tathā vaikaṅkapramukhā meroḥ pūrvataḥ kesarācalāḥ

Translation

To the east of Mount Meru lie the Kesarā mountains—Śītāmbha, Kumuda, Kurarī, Mālyavān, and others, with Vaikaṅka as their foremost.

Word by Word

• शीताम्भः: Śītāmbhas (name)
• शीताम्भः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शीत + अम्भस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; nominative singular (neuter); समास: शीतम् अम्भः यस्य/शीतम् अम्भः

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• कुमुन्दः: Kumunda (name)
• कुमुन्दः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुमुन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; nominative singular (masc)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• कुररी: Kurarī (name)
• कुररी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुररी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; nominative singular (fem)

• माल्यवान्: Mālyavān (name)
• माल्यवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माल्यवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; nominative singular (masc); मतुप्-अन्त (possessive)

• तथा: also
• तथा: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/प्रकारवाचक (adverb: 'also/likewise')

• वैकङ्कप्रमुखाः: those headed by Vaikaṅka
• वैकङ्कप्रमुखाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैकङ्क + प्रमुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; nominative plural (masc); समास: वैकङ्कः प्रमुखः येषां ते (अर्थे बहुवचन-समूह)

• मेरोः: of Meru
• मेरोः: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; genitive singular (masc)

• पूर्वतः: to the east (of)
• पूर्वतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्वतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; दिक्-प्रवृत्तिनिमित्तक (directional adverb: 'to the east of')

• केसराचलाः: the Kesarā mountains
• केसराचलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केसर + अचल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; nominative plural (masc); समास: केसराः अचलाः (केसर-नामकाः पर्वताः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Geography around Mount Meru: the directional ‘Kesarā’ mountain-ramparts

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Characters & Entities

• Meru
• Kesarācalāḥ
• Śītāmbha
• Kumuda
• Kurarī
• Mālyavān
• Vaikaṅka

FAQs

What is the significance of the Kesarā mountains in the Vishnu Purana?

They are a defined set of mountain ranges positioned to the east of Mount Meru, used to describe the Purana’s structured, directional layout of the world.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the world’s geography to Maitreya here?

He lists named mountain ranges by direction around Meru, presenting cosmic geography as an ordered system rather than a random landscape.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the ordered cosmos described is traditionally understood as sustained by the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—whose sovereignty underlies the world’s stable structure.