Shloka 72
क्षीराब्धिः सर्वतो ब्रह्मन् पुष्कराख्येन वेष्टितः द्वीपेन शाकद्वीपात् तु द्विगुणेन समन्ततः
kṣīrābdhiḥ sarvato brahman puṣkarākhyena veṣṭitaḥ dvīpena śākadvīpāt tu dviguṇena samantataḥ
O Brahmin, the Ocean of Milk is encompassed on every side by the continent called Puṣkara—encircling it all around, and extending to twice the measure of Śāka-dvīpa.
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Successive encirclement of oceans and dvīpas with proportional measures (dviguṇa expansion)
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Cosmic Hierarchy: Dvipas
Concept: Cosmic space is presented as proportionate and hierarchical, with systematic expansion from one ring to the next.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Use the image of ordered expansion to reflect on graded spiritual growth—steady increase without losing balance.
Vishishtadvaita: Hierarchy and proportionality suggest a purposeful cosmos sustained by a higher intelligence (niyantṛ), congenial to the Lord-as-inner-governor idea though not explicit.
FAQs
Here it functions as a major cosmic ocean in the ordered layout of the world, showing a measured, law-governed universe where continents and oceans encircle one another in fixed proportions.
He describes a concentric model: each dvīpa and its ocean surround the previous region, and the dimensions expand by a consistent rule—here, Puṣkara-dvīpa is said to be twice the extent of Śāka-dvīpa.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana frames such cosmic order as sustained by the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—whose sovereignty underlies the harmony, measure, and stability of creation.