Shloka 9

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

Devanagari script

प्रविष्टः षोडशाधस्ताद् द्वात्रिंशन् मूर्ध्नि विस्तृतः मूले षोडशसाहस्रो विस्तारस् तस्य सर्वतः

Transliteration

praviṣṭaḥ ṣoḍaśādhastād dvātriṃśan mūrdhni vistṛtaḥ mūle ṣoḍaśasāhasro vistāras tasya sarvataḥ

Translation

It extends downward for sixteen (units), and at the summit it spreads to thirty-two. From its very base, its breadth is sixteen thousand in every direction.

Word by Word

• प्रविष्टः: entered / extending down into
• प्रविष्टः: Visheshana (Adjectival predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र + विश् (धातु) → प्रविष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• षोडश: sixteen
• षोडश: Visheshana (Quantifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षोडश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक (indeclinable-like numeral used adjectivally); अत्र परिमाणनिर्देशः

• अधस्तात्: below / downward
• अधस्तात्: Adhikarana (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधस्तात् (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• द्वात्रिंशत्: thirty-two
• द्वात्रिंशत्: Visheshana (Quantifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वात्रिंशत् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; अत्र परिमाणनिर्देशः (sandhi form: द्वात्रिंशन्)

• मूर्ध्नि: at the top / on the head
• मूर्ध्नि: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूर्धन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• विस्तृतः: expanded / spread
• विस्तृतः: Visheshana (Adjectival predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + स्तृ (धातु) → विस्तृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• मूले: at the base / at the root
• मूले: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• षोडशसाहस्रः: sixteen thousand (in measure)
• षोडशसाहस्रः: Visheshana (Quantifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षोडश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + साहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः

• विस्तारः: breadth / extent
• विस्तारः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विस्तार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तस्य: of it / its
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• सर्वतः: on all sides / everywhere
• सर्वतः: Desha-adhikarana (Spatial extent)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वतः (अव्यय)
• Form: परितोऽर्थक-अव्यय (adverb: on all sides)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Further dimensional specifics of the central mountain (depth, summit breadth, basal extent) within bhū-maṇḍala mapping

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: precise, enumerative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of cosmic measurements in the Vishnu Purana?

They present the cosmos as an ordered, intelligible structure—an expression of dharma and Vishnu’s sustaining sovereignty—rather than a random expanse.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the universe’s structure here?

He describes it with layered spatial dimensions—depth below, a wider summit, and a vast basal breadth—using traditional numerical measures to convey scale and hierarchy.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana frames cosmology as the ordered domain preserved by the Supreme Reality (Vishnu), whose governance makes the universe coherent and knowable.