Shloka 86

Devanagari script

स्वादूदकेनोदधिना पुष्करः परिवेष्टितः समेन पुष्करस्यैव विस्तारान् मण्डलात् तथा

Transliteration

svādūdakenodadhinā puṣkaraḥ pariveṣṭitaḥ samena puṣkarasyaiva vistārān maṇḍalāt tathā

Translation

Then Puṣkara-dvīpa is encircled by an ocean of sweet water; and that ocean, like a circular belt, is in breadth equal to Puṣkara itself.

Word by Word

• स्वादु-उदकेन: with sweet water
• स्वादु-उदकेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वादु (प्रातिपदिक) + उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (स्वादु उदकम्)

• उदधिना: by the ocean
• उदधिना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उदधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• पुष्करः: Puṣkara (the lake/region)
• पुष्करः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• परिवेष्टितः: is surrounded/encircled
• परिवेष्टितः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-√वेṣ्ट् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘आवृतः/परिवेष्टितः’

• समेन: by an equal (measure)
• समेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (सम = equal)

• पुष्करस्य: of Puṣkara
• पुष्करस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—निपात (emphasis/limitation)

• विस्तारान्: expanses/extent(s)
• विस्तारान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विस्तार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• मण्डलात्: from the circle/orb
• मण्डलात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन

• तथा: thus/likewise
• तथा: Avyaya (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: ‘thus/so’)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Description of the seven dvīpas and their surrounding oceans (Jambū to Puṣkara) and their measures

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Dvipas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The world-system is structured by fixed proportions, revealing an intelligible, law-governed cosmic design.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Contemplate order and proportion in nature to cultivate steadiness and reverence for dharma.

Vishishtadvaita: Cosmic regularity is read as niyati under Īśvara’s governance—an ordered body of the Lord rather than a random aggregate.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Puṣkara-dvīpa
• Svādūdaka-samudra (ocean of sweet water)

FAQs

What is the significance of the sweet-water ocean (Svādūdaka-samudra) in the Vishnu Purana?

It is one of the successive encircling oceans in the Purāṇic concentric world-model, marking an ordered cosmic layer around Puṣkara-dvīpa and illustrating the measured harmony of the universe.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the structure of dvīpas and oceans here?

He presents them as concentric circular belts (maṇḍalas), where each continent and its surrounding ocean follow a defined proportion—here, the ocean’s breadth is stated to be equal to that of Puṣkara-dvīpa.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context of geography and measurement?

Even in geographic description, the Purāṇa implies Vishnu’s sovereignty as the sustainer of cosmic order: the worlds are not random, but structured, proportioned, and upheld within a divinely governed system.