Shloka 38
सप्तद्वीप-समुद्र-प्रमाणम्: प्लक्षादि-द्वीपवर्णनं, लोकालोक-सीमा, चन्द्र-समुद्र-वृद्धिक्षयः
वर्णास् तत्रापि चत्वारो निजानुष्ठानतत्पराः दमिनः शुष्मिणः स्नेहा मन्देहाश् च महामुने
varṇās tatrāpi catvāro nijānuṣṭhānatatparāḥ daminaḥ śuṣmiṇaḥ snehā mandehāś ca mahāmune
O great sage, there too are four classes, each intent upon the observance of its own ordained duties: the Damina, the Śuṣmin, the Sneha, and the Mandeha.
Sage Parāśara
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Social ordering within the varṣa and its dharma-observant classes
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas (regions)
Concept: Dharma is maintained through faithful performance of one’s own prescribed duties (svadharma) within an ordered society.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Identify your responsibilities (family, work, community) and perform them steadily without neglect or arrogance.
Vishishtadvaita: Plural social functions are real and meaningful within the Lord’s ordered world, not illusory; duty becomes a mode of service within divine governance.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman (philosophical)
Bhakti Type: Shanta (peaceful)
FAQs
This verse emphasizes that dharma—ordered duty and discipline—operates as a universal principle across regions, not merely as a human social arrangement.
By listing region-specific groups who are each “devoted to their own observances,” Parāśara frames cosmic geography as morally structured—inhabitants are defined by adherence to their assigned functions.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s cosmology presumes Vishnu as the sustaining ground of ṛta/dharma—orderly duty in every realm reflects the Supreme’s governance of creation.