Shloka 3

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

Devanagari script

यत्प्रमाणम् इदं सर्वं यदाधारं यदात्मकम् संस्थानम् अस्य च मुने यथावद् वक्तुम् अर्हसि

Transliteration

yatpramāṇam idaṃ sarvaṃ yadādhāraṃ yadātmakam saṃsthānam asya ca mune yathāvad vaktum arhasi

Translation

O sage, you are fit to explain in due order how vast this entire cosmos is, what upholds it as its support, what its very nature is, and what form and arrangement it possesses.

Word by Word

• yat: which/that (whose)
• yat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-विशेषण (relative pronoun used adjectivally)

• pramāṇam: measure; extent; standard
• pramāṇam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• idam: this
• idam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; संकेत-विशेषण (demonstrative)

• sarvam: all; entire
• sarvam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासार्थे/समूहवाचक-विशेषण

• yat: which/that (whose)
• yat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-विशेषण

• ādhāram: support; basis
• ādhāram: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• yat: which/that (whose)
• yat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-विशेषण

• ātmakam: consisting of; of the nature of
• ātmakam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ātmaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तद्धितान्त-विशेषण (having the nature of)

• saṃsthānam: form; arrangement; structure
• saṃsthānam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• asya: of this; its
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• yathāvat: properly; in due manner
• yathāvat: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• vaktum: to speak; to describe
• vaktum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु) + tumun (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: तुमुनन्त (infinitive), अव्ययवत् प्रयोग; अर्थ: ‘वक्तुं’ = to speak

• arhasi: you are able/fit; you should
• arhasi: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: arh (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Maitreya (addressing Sage Parāśara)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Maitreya

Topic: Cosmic measure (pramāṇa), support (ādhāra), essential nature (ātman), and arrangement/form (saṃsthāna) of the universe

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: inquisitive, orderly, truth-seeking

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: A proper account of the cosmos requires knowing its extent, its sustaining support, its intrinsic nature, and its ordered configuration.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Approach spiritual study with structured questions—measure, support, essence, and order—before forming conclusions.

Vishishtadvaita: The request for the cosmos’ ādhāra implicitly anticipates Viṣṇu as the sustaining ground while the world retains real, ordered structure.

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya
• Sage Parāśara
• Universe (Jagat)

FAQs

What is the significance of the universe’s “measure and support” in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames the cosmological inquiry: the Purana will define the universe’s extent (pramāṇa), its sustaining foundation (ādhāra), and its ordered structure (saṃsthāna), setting up the systematic exposition of cosmic geography in Ansha 2.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the cosmos in response to such questions?

The dialogue format positions Maitreya as the inquirer and Parāśara as the authoritative teacher who will describe the universe step-by-step—its scale, its supports, its essential nature, and its arrangement—consistent with Purāṇic cosmology.

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

Even when the verse speaks as a cosmological request, the Vishnu Purana’s underlying stance is that the cosmos is not independent: its order, support, and nature ultimately rest upon the Supreme Reality identified with Vishnu.