Shloka 13

भारतवर्षमहात्म्यम् — कर्मभूमित्वम्, नवभेदाः, कुलपर्वताः-नद्यः-जनपदाः, युगचक्रविशेषः, यज्ञपुरुषविष्णुपूजा

Devanagari script

कृतमालाताम्रपर्णीप्रमुखा मलयोद्भवाः त्रिसामा ऋषिकुल्याद्या महेन्द्रप्रभवाः स्मृताः

Transliteration

kṛtamālātāmraparṇīpramukhā malayodbhavāḥ trisāmā ṛṣikulyādyā mahendraprabhavāḥ smṛtāḥ

Translation

From the Malaya mountains arise rivers such as the Kṛtamālā and the Tāmraparṇī; and from the Mahendra range are remembered to spring the Trisāmā and the Ṛṣikulyā, and others besides.

Word by Word

• कृतमाला-ताम्रपर्णी-प्रमुखाः: with Kṛtamālā and Tāmraparṇī as the chief ones
• कृतमाला-ताम्रपर्णी-प्रमुखाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृतमाला (प्रातिपदिक) + ताम्रपर्णी (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रमुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्व (नदी-नामसमुच्चय) + प्रमुख

• मलय-उद्भवाः: arising from (mount) Malaya
• मलय-उद्भवाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मलय (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मलयात् उद्भवाः)

• त्रिसामा: Trisāmā (river name)
• त्रिसामा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिसामा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (नाम)

• ऋषिकुल्या-आद्याः: (rivers) such as Ṛṣikulyā, etc.
• ऋषिकुल्या-आद्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषिकुल्या (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (आदि-प्रत्ययार्थ: 'etc.')

• महेन्द्र-प्रभवाः: originating from (mount) Mahendra
• महेन्द्र-प्रभवाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रभव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (महेन्द्रात् प्रभवाः)

• स्मृताः: are said/mentioned
• स्मृताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; (are) mentioned/remembered

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Completion of river-sources: Malaya and Mahendra ranges and their streams.

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: descriptive

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Kṛtamālā River
• Tāmraparṇī River
• Trisāmā River
• Ṛṣikulyā River
• Malaya Mountain
• Mahendra Mountain

FAQs

What is the significance of listing rivers in the Vishnu Purana?

The river lists function as a sacred-geographic map of Bhārata-varṣa, tying holy places and natural features to dharma and the ordered world sustained by Vishnu.

How does Sage Parāśara explain sacred geography in this chapter?

Parāśara enumerates mountains and the rivers that arise from them, presenting tradition-based (smṛta) knowledge that frames the land as ritually and cosmically meaningful.

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

Even when the verse is descriptive, the Purāṇic intent is that the world’s stable order—its mountains, waters, and life-supporting flows—rests within Vishnu’s sovereignty as the sustaining Supreme Reality.