Shloka 24

सप्तद्वीप-समुद्र-प्रमाणम्: प्लक्षादि-द्वीपवर्णनं, लोकालोक-सीमा, चन्द्र-समुद्र-वृद्धिक्षयः

Devanagari script

शाल्मलेन समुद्रो ऽसौ द्वीपेनेक्षुरसोदकः विस्तारद्विगुणेनाथ सर्वतः संवृतः स्थितः

Transliteration

śālmalena samudro 'sau dvīpenekṣurasodakaḥ vistāradviguṇenātha sarvataḥ saṃvṛtaḥ sthitaḥ

Translation

That ocean—whose waters are the very essence of sugarcane juice—is encircled on every side by the Śālmala continent, which surrounds it with a breadth twice as great.

Word by Word

• शाल्मलेन: by/with Śālmala (dvīpa)
• शाल्मलेन: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाल्मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• समुद्रः: ocean
• समुद्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• असौ: that (aforementioned)
• असौ: Karta (Appositional subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• द्वीपेन: by the island-continent
• द्वीपेन: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• इक्षुरसोदकः: having sugarcane-juice as water
• इक्षुरसोदकः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इक्षु-रस + उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ikṣu-rasasya udakam) बहुव्रीह्यर्थे विशेषणम् (having water of sugarcane-juice)

• विस्तारद्विगुणेन: with double the extent
• विस्तारद्विगुणेन: Karana (Measure/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विस्तार + द्विगुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (vistārasya dviguṇena) क्रियाविशेषणार्थे

• अथ: and then
• अथ: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रमसूचक (then/and)

• सर्वतः: on all sides
• सर्वतः: Desha-adhikarana (Spatial adverb/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; दिशावाचक (from all sides/everywhere)

• संवृतः: enclosed/surrounded
• संवृतः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-√वृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘enclosed/surrounded’

• स्थितः: stands/is situated
• स्थितः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि/कर्तरि कृदन्त (past participle/क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘stands/exists’

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya in the cosmography section)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The encircling ocean of sugarcane-juice essence and the proportional breadth of Śālmaladvīpa.

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Dvipas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The world-system is described as concentric expansions with precise proportional measures, expressing a law-like cosmic order.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Use the text’s ordered measures as a contemplative aid for perceiving harmony and proportion in life and practice.

Vishishtadvaita: Cosmic order and plenitude are attributes of the Lord’s manifested body; multiplicity is real yet dependent (śeṣa) on Him.

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Śālmala-dvīpa
• Ikṣurasa-samudra (sugarcane-juice ocean)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Ikṣurasa (sugarcane-juice) ocean in the Vishnu Purana?

It is one of the successive cosmological oceans described in the Purāṇic ring-universe, illustrating a divinely ordered world where each region has a distinct, symbolic nature.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the arrangement of continents and oceans here?

He describes a concentric structure in which an ocean is enclosed by a surrounding dvīpa, and the surrounding region is said to be twice the breadth, emphasizing a patterned cosmic geometry.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the cosmographic order being narrated is presented as part of Vishnu’s sovereign governance—an intelligible, sustained structure within His supreme reality.