Shloka 50

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

Devanagari script

क्रौञ्चश् च वामनश् चैव तृतीयश् चान्धकारकः चतुर्थो रत्नशैलश् च स्वाहिनी हयसंनिभः

Transliteration

krauñcaś ca vāmanaś caiva tṛtīyaś cāndhakārakaḥ caturtho ratnaśailaś ca svāhinī hayasaṃnibhaḥ

Translation

“There is the mountain Krauñca, and likewise Vāmana; the third is Andhakāraka; the fourth is Ratnaśaila; and Svāhinī, resembling a horse in form.”

Word by Word

• क्रौञ्चः: Krauñca (name)
• क्रौञ्चः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रौञ्च (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (नाम)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• वामनः: Vāmana (name)
• वामनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वामन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (नाम)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

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

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• अन्धकारकः: Andhakāraka (name)
• अन्धकारकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्धकारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (नाम)

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

• रत्नशैलः: Ratnaśaila (Jewel-mountain; name)
• रत्नशैलः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रत्न + शैल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (नाम)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

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

• हयसंनिभः: horse-like, resembling a horse
• हयसंनिभः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हय + संनिभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (to स्वाहिनी/अचलः implied)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The specific mountain names of Krauñca-dvīpa’s varṣācalas

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Krauñca
• Vāmana
• Andhakāraka
• Ratnaśaila
• Svāhinī

FAQs

What is the significance of listing mountains like Krauñca and Ratnaśaila in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse is part of the Purana’s sacred geography, where naming mountains functions as a cosmological map—portraying the earth as an ordered domain within a divinely governed universe.

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

Parāśara proceeds by systematic enumeration—region by region and feature by feature—so Maitreya can grasp the earth as a coherent, law-bound structure rather than a random expanse.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in each verse, the geography is presented as part of an intelligible cosmic order ultimately sustained by the Supreme Reality (Vishnu) who upholds and regulates the worlds.