Shloka 37

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

Devanagari script

भद्रा तथोत्तरगिरीन् उत्तरांश् च तथा कुरून् अतीत्योत्तरम् अम्भोधिं समभ्येति महामुने

Transliteration

bhadrā tathottaragirīn uttarāṃś ca tathā kurūn atītyottaram ambhodhiṃ samabhyeti mahāmune

Translation

Bhadrā likewise passes beyond the Northern Mountains and also beyond the Uttara-Kurus; O great sage, she reaches the ocean of the north.

Word by Word

• भद्रा: Bhadrā (river)
• भद्रा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भद्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण

• उत्तरगिरीन्: the northern mountains
• उत्तरगिरीन्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तर + गिरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• उत्तरान्: northern
• उत्तरान्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (कुरून्-विशेषणम्)

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

• तथा: also / likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण

• कुरून्: the Kurus
• कुरून्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

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

• उत्तरम्: northern
• उत्तरम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (अम्भोधिम्-विशेषणम्)

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

• समभ्येति: reaches / comes up to
• समभ्येति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + अभि + इ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• महामुने: O great sage
• महामुने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Northern-direction river course beyond Uttara-giris and Uttara-Kuru to the northern ocean

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Bhadrā
• Uttara-giri (Northern Mountains)
• Uttara-Kuru
• Uttara-ambhodhi (Northern Ocean)

FAQs

What is the significance of Uttara-Kuru in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse Uttara-Kuru functions as a major northern landmark in the Purāṇic world-map, marking a sacred, semi-mythic region beyond which the narrative places the boundary of the northern ocean.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the world’s layout in this chapter?

He narrates a sequential geography—moving from one named region to the next—so the listener can visualize the ordered cosmos, culminating here in the approach to the northern ocean.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic cosmography is presented as an expression of divine order—an intelligible, structured universe sustained under Vishnu’s supreme sovereignty.