Shloka 26

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

Devanagari script

कुमुदश् चोन्नतश् चैव तृतीयश् च बलाहकः द्रोणो यत्र महौषध्यः स चतुर्थो महीधरः

Transliteration

kumudaś connataś caiva tṛtīyaś ca balāhakaḥ droṇo yatra mahauṣadhyaḥ sa caturtho mahīdharaḥ

Translation

Kumuda and Unnata are two mountains; the third is Balāhaka. Droṇa—where the great medicinal herbs are found—is the fourth mountain, the bearer that upholds the earth.

Word by Word

• कुमुदः: Kumuda (name)
• कुमुदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुमुद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction/particle)

• उन्नतः: Unnata (name)
• उन्नतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उन्नत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction/particle)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• तृतीयः: the third
• तृतीयः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृतीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण (ordinal adjective)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction/particle)

• बलाहकः: Balāhaka (name)
• बलाहकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलाहक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• द्रोणः: Droṇa (name)
• द्रोणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रोण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: where)

• महौषध्यः: Mahauṣadhya (name; 'great herb')
• महौषध्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + औषध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (महान् औषध्यः)

• सः: he/that one
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• चतुर्थः: the fourth
• चतुर्थः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण (ordinal adjective)

• महीधरः: Mahīdhara (name; 'earth-holder/mountain')
• महीधरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक) + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (महीम् धरति इति/मही-धरः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Description of Śālmaladvīpa’s mountains, rivers, and regions (varṣas).

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Dvipas (continents)

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Kumuda
• Unnata
• Balāhaka
• Droṇa
• mahauṣadhi (great medicinal herbs)

FAQs

What is the significance of Droṇa mountain and the “great medicinal herbs” in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse marks Droṇa as a sacred resource-bearing mountain, famed for mahauṣadhi—symbolizing how the earth’s regions are arranged to sustain life within the divinely ordered world-structure.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the world’s structure in this section?

Parāśara lists and classifies geographic features—especially mountains that ‘support’ the land—presenting Bhārata-varṣa as an ordered realm within a larger cosmological map.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic geography is framed as part of Vishnu’s sustaining sovereignty—an ordered cosmos where regions, mountains, and resources exist to uphold life and dharma.