Shloka 81
सत्यानृते न तत्रास्तां द्वीपे पुष्करसंज्ञिते न तत्र नद्यः शैला वा द्वीपे वर्षद्वयान्विते
satyānṛte na tatrāstāṃ dvīpe puṣkarasaṃjñite na tatra nadyaḥ śailā vā dvīpe varṣadvayānvite
In the island called Puṣkara, neither truth nor untruth is held as a dividing line. There are no rivers and no mountains; that dvīpa consists of only two regions (varṣas).
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Description of the dvīpas and their distinctive features within Jambūdvīpa’s concentric island cosmography
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Cosmic Hierarchy: Dvipas
Concept: Certain cosmic regions are portrayed as transcending ordinary dualistic distinctions and the familiar features of embodied geography.
Vedantic Theme: Maya
Application: Use the text’s cosmic mapping as a contemplative aid: notice how attachment to dualities and “landmarks” of identity can be relinquished in meditation.
Vishishtadvaita: Even where dualities seem absent, the ordered cosmos remains a real mode within Bhagavān’s governance, not a mere illusion.
FAQs
The verse portrays Puṣkara-dvīpa as a realm where ordinary moral dualities (satya vs. anṛta) are not emphasized as distinguishing features, highlighting an exceptional, simplified cosmic region within Purāṇic sacred geography.
Parāśara describes Puṣkara-dvīpa as lacking rivers and mountains and being divided into only two varṣas, marking it as structurally unlike other dvīpas that are typically detailed with ranges and waterways.
Even when the verse is purely geographic, the Vishnu Purana frames cosmic order as sustained under Vishnu’s sovereignty; the ordered arrangement of dvīpas and their distinctive properties implicitly reflects the Supreme Reality that upholds creation.