Shloka 4

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

Devanagari script

मैत्रेय श्रूयताम् एतत् संक्षेपाद् गदतो मम नास्य वर्षशतेनापि वक्तुं शक्नोमि विस्तरम्

Transliteration

maitreya śrūyatām etat saṃkṣepād gadato mama nāsya varṣaśatenāpi vaktuṃ śaknomi vistaram

Translation

O Maitreya, listen to this as I relate it in summary; for even in a hundred years I would not be able to set forth its full detail and expanse.

Word by Word

• maitreya: O Maitreya
• maitreya: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maitreya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• śrūyatām: let it be heard
• śrūyatām: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोग (let it be heard)

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; ‘श्रूयताम्’ इत्यत्र कर्मभावे श्रवण-विषय

• saṃkṣepāt: briefly; in summary
• saṃkṣepāt: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkṣepa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; हेतौ/प्रकारे (by way of brevity)

• gadataḥ: of (me) speaking; as I speak
• gadataḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gad (धातु) + śatṛ (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; ‘मम’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम् (of me who am speaking)

• mama: of me; my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• na: not
• na: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

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

• varṣaśatena: with (even) a hundred years
• varṣaśatena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (varṣāṇāṃ śatam) = ‘a hundred years’; करण/परिमाणे

• api: even; also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/अपि-समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (even/also)

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

• śaknomi: I am able
• śaknomi: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śak (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• vistaram: detail; full extent
• vistaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

Speaker

Sage Parāśara

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Preface to cosmographical exposition given the immeasurable expanse of details

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative, measured, summarizing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Sacred cosmology is so vast that even a long lifetime cannot exhaust it; thus teaching proceeds by principled summary rather than endless detail.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Seek the governing structure and essentials in scripture before getting lost in proliferating particulars.

Vishishtadvaita: The teacher’s ‘saṃkṣepa’ method reflects ordered revelation: finite minds grasp the real cosmos through graded, intelligible instruction upheld by the Lord’s rational order.

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of presenting cosmology in summary form in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse signals the immeasurable scope of the cosmos and justifies a concise narration, emphasizing that the ordered universe is too vast for exhaustive description.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the method of teaching to Maitreya here?

Parāśara frames the discourse as a guru-to-disciple transmission: Maitreya is asked to listen, while the teacher deliberately condenses an otherwise boundless subject.

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

Even without naming Vishnu directly, the verse implies a cosmos of such magnitude and order that it points to a supreme governing reality—consistent with the Purana’s vision of Vishnu as the sovereign foundation of all worlds.