Shloka 96

Devanagari script

पञ्चाशत्कोटिविस्तारा सेयम् उर्वी महामुने सहैवाण्डकटाहेन सद्वीपाब्धिमहीधरा

Transliteration

pañcāśatkoṭivistārā seyam urvī mahāmune sahaivāṇḍakaṭāhena sadvīpābdhimahīdharā

Translation

O great sage, this broad Earth extends for fifty crores in measure—together with the enclosing shell of the cosmic egg, with its continents and oceans, and with the mountains that uphold the world.

Word by Word

• पञ्चाशत्: fifty
• पञ्चाशत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्चाशत् (प्रातिपदिक; संख्याशब्द)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; समासे पूर्वपदत्वेन (numeral used as prior member)

• कोटि: crore
• कोटि: Sambandha (Genitival relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषे पूर्वपद (stem in compound; ‘crore’)

• विस्तारा: having an extent (of)
• विस्तारा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विस्तार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; ‘पञ्चाशत्कोटि-विस्तार’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (having an extent of fifty crores)

• सा: she/that (this)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (demonstrative pronoun)

• इयम्: this
• इयम्: Apposition (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (deictic pronoun)

• उर्वी: earth
• उर्वी: Apposition (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उर्वी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• महामुने: O great sage
• महामुने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; ‘महान् मुनिः’ इति कर्मधारयः

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahakari (Accompaniment/सहकारि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सह-योगे तृतीया अपेक्षा (with; governs instrumental)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Emphasis (निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle of emphasis)

• अण्डकटाहेन: with the cosmic-egg cauldron (shell)
• अण्डकटाहेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अण्ड + कटाह (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; ‘अण्डस्य कटाहः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• सद्वीपाब्धिमहीधरा: bearing continents, oceans, and mountains
• सद्वीपाब्धिमहीधरा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वीप + अब्धि + मही + धरा (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समाहार-तत्पुरुष/बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः: ‘द्वीपैः अब्धिभिः च महीधरैः च सहिता’ इत्यर्थे (earth bearing continents, oceans, and mountains)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Cosmic geography and measurements of the earth within the brahmāṇḍa

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Brahmanda (universe)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The earth is presented as a measured, structured component of the cosmic egg, indicating an ordered universe sustained by higher principles.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Contemplate cosmic order to cultivate humility and steadiness in dharma amid worldly change.

Vishishtadvaita: The finite world (acit) is real and ordered within the divine cosmos, suitable as a field for dharma and devotion under the Lord’s governance.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Lakshmi Presence: Bhumi (earth)

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Brahmāṇḍa (cosmic egg)
• Earth (Urvī)
• Dvīpas (continents)
• Abdhis (oceans)
• Mountains (Mahīdharas)

FAQs

What is the significance of measuring the Earth in the Vishnu Purana?

It frames sacred geography as an ordered cosmos—Earth, continents, oceans, and mountains are presented as a structured domain within the Brahmāṇḍa, governed by divine law.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the cosmic structure here?

He describes the Earth’s vast extent and explicitly situates it within the enclosing ‘shell’ of the cosmic egg, including its dvīpas, oceans, and supporting mountain ranges.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s cosmography functions as a theology of sovereignty: the universe’s measurable order is ultimately upheld by the Supreme Reality identified as Vishnu.