Shloka 36

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

Devanagari script

चक्षुश् च पश्चिमगिरीन् अतीत्य सकलांस् ततः पश्चिमं केतुमालाख्यं वर्षं गत्वैति सागरम्

Transliteration

cakṣuś ca paścimagirīn atītya sakalāṃs tataḥ paścimaṃ ketumālākhyaṃ varṣaṃ gatvaiti sāgaram

Translation

Cakṣu, too, having passed beyond all the western mountain ranges, proceeds further west, enters the land known as Ketumāla-varṣa, and reaches the ocean.

Word by Word

• चक्षुः: Cakṣu (river Cakṣu)
• चक्षुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्षुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• पश्चिमगिरीन्: the western mountains
• पश्चिमगिरीन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पश्चिम + गिरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• अतीत्य: having crossed / passed beyond
• अतीत्य: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अति + इ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund)

• सकलान्: all (of them)
• सकलान्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सकल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (गिरीन्-विशेषणम्)

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (Sequence marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (तदनन्तरम्)

• पश्चिमम्: western
• पश्चिमम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पश्चिम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (वर्षम्-विशेषणम्)

• केतुमालाख्यम्: called Ketumāla
• केतुमालाख्यम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: केतुमाला + आख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (वर्षम्-विशेषणम्)

• वर्षम्: the region/continent (varṣa)
• वर्षम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund)

• एति: reaches / goes
• एति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: इ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• सागरम्: the ocean
• सागरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating cosmology to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Directional rivers and the western varṣa Ketumāla within Jambūdvīpa’s ordered geography

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The river’s movement ‘in accord with ordained order’ underscores niyama/ṛta: the cosmos functions through stable lawfulness.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Align personal conduct with regular disciplines (niyamas), mirroring cosmic regularity through daily sādhana.

Vishishtadvaita: Cosmic order implies an ordering intelligence; in Viśiṣṭādvaita this is the Lord as inner ruler sustaining lawful processes.

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Cakṣu
• Ketumāla
• Sāgara (Ocean)

FAQs

What is the significance of Ketumāla in the Vishnu Purana?

Ketumāla is one of the varṣas (major regions) of Jambudvīpa; this verse situates it in the far west and frames it within the Purāṇic map where rivers and mountains mark an ordered, divinely governed cosmos.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic order through geography in this chapter?

By tracing how features like rivers (here, Cakṣu) move through defined mountain boundaries into named regions and finally to the ocean, Parāśara presents the world as a structured system functioning according to an overarching law upheld by the Supreme.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇa’s cosmology is presented as a manifestation of His sovereignty—an intelligible, regulated universe whose regions and flows operate under the Supreme Reality.