Shloka 38

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

Devanagari script

आनीलनिषधायामौ माल्यवद्गन्धमादनौ तयोर् मध्यगतो मेरुः कर्णिकाकारसंस्थितः

Transliteration

ānīlaniṣadhāyāmau mālyavadgandhamādanau tayor madhyagato meruḥ karṇikākārasaṃsthitaḥ

Translation

There stand the mountains Ānīla, Niṣadha, and Ayāma; and also Mālyavat and Gandhamādana. In their midst rises Mount Meru, set like the lotus’s central pericarp—firmly established as the axis of the world’s ordered design.

Word by Word

• आनीलनिषधायामौ: Ānīla and Niṣadha (mountains), stretching (in extent)
• आनीलनिषधायामौ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आनील + निषध + आयाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), द्विवचन; विशेषणम् (माल्यवद्गन्धमादनौ-विशेषणम्); 'Ānīla and Niṣadha (mountains) extending (in length)'

• माल्यवत्: Mālyavat (mountain)
• माल्यवत्: Karta (Subject-part/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माल्यवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-समुच्चयस्य पूर्वपद (paired with गन्धमादनौ)

• गन्धमादनौ: Gandhamādana (two peaks / the pair)
• गन्धमादनौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धमादन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), द्विवचन; (माल्यवत् इत्यनेन सह द्वन्द्वार्थः)

• तयोः: of those two
• तयोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), द्विवचन

• मध्यगतः: situated in the middle
• मध्यगतः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मध्य + गत (गम्-धातु; क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle) विशेषणम् (मेरोः)

• मेरुः: Meru (mountain)
• मेरुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• कर्णिकाकारसंस्थितः: standing like the pericarp (of a lotus) in form
• कर्णिकाकारसंस्थितः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर्णिका + आकार + संस्थित (स्था-धातु; क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषणम् (मेरोः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The axial placement of Mount Meru among surrounding mountain ranges, as the lotus-like center of the world-system

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Meru’s lotus-pericarp metaphor conveys a cosmos that is centered, integrated, and purposively structured rather than chaotic.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Use the ‘lotus-center’ image for meditation: cultivate an inner axis (steadiness of mind) amid changing circumstances.

Vishishtadvaita: The lotus-centered universe suggests a coherent whole; in Viśiṣṭādvaita, such coherence is grounded in Nārāyaṇa as the inner support of the world-body (śarīra-śarīrī-bhāva), even when not explicitly stated.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Mount Meru
• Ānīla
• Niṣadha
• Ayāma
• Mālyavat
• Gandhamādana
• Jambūdvīpa

FAQs

What is the significance of Mount Meru being compared to a lotus ‘karṇikā’ in the Vishnu Purana?

The comparison presents Meru as the stable central core of the cosmic lotus—symbolizing an ordered universe with a fixed axis, reflecting the Purāṇic vision of harmony upheld by Vishnu’s supreme governance.

How does Sage Parāśara explain sacred geography to Maitreya in this chapter?

He enumerates key mountain ranges and then identifies Meru as positioned centrally among them, using a vivid metaphor to make the cosmic layout intelligible and memorable within the narrative teaching format.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the ordered placement of continents and mountains is framed in the Vishnu Purana as part of the divinely sustained cosmos—an expression of the Supreme Reality’s sovereignty over space, direction, and cosmic stability.