Shloka 3

मेरु-प्रमाणम्, सप्त-पाताल-वर्णनम्, तथा अनन्त-शेष-तत्त्वम्

Devanagari script

शुक्लकृष्णारुणाः पीताः शर्कराः शैलकाञ्चनाः भूमयो यत्र मैत्रेय वरप्रासादशोभिताः

Transliteration

śuklakṛṣṇāruṇāḥ pītāḥ śarkarāḥ śailakāñcanāḥ bhūmayo yatra maitreya varaprāsādaśobhitāḥ

Translation

There, O Maitreya, are lands adorned with splendid mansions; and there are gravels and soils of many hues—white, black, ruddy, and yellow—some gleaming like mountain-gold itself.

Word by Word

• शुक्लकृष्णारुणाः: white, black, and red
• शुक्लकृष्णारुणाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुक्ल + कृष्ण + अरुण (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (white, black, and red)

• पीताः: yellow
• पीताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पीत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• शर्कराः: gravels/pebbles
• शर्कराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर्करा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• शैलकाञ्चनाः: golden like rock
• शैलकाञ्चनाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शैल + काञ्चन (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘शैलं काञ्चनं (इव)’ / ‘शैलवत् काञ्चनम्’ अर्थे (rock-like golden)

• भूमयः: grounds/lands
• भूमयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adverbial (देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• मैत्रेय: O Maitreya
• मैत्रेय: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मैत्रेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• वरप्रासादशोभिताः: adorned with excellent palaces
• वरप्रासादशोभिताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर + प्रासाद + शोभित (प्रातिपदिक; शोभित = कृदन्त from √शुभ्/√शोभ्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘वरैः प्रासादैः शोभिताः’ इत्यर्थे बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; शोभित (क्त) कृदन्तः (adorned)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Qualitative description of the nether realms’ lands—colors, wealth, and architecture

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: vivid

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even subterranean realms possess beauty and opulence, showing that cosmic spaces vary in guṇas and experiences across different lokas.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Do not equate external splendor with spiritual elevation; cultivate discernment (viveka) alongside appreciation of beauty.

Vishishtadvaita: Beauty and variety in the real cosmos are modes of the Lord’s ordered manifestation; yet spiritual value depends on orientation to the divine, not mere sensory richness.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of multicolored soils and golden ground in the Vishnu Purana?

They signal a wondrous, divinely ordered geography where nature itself appears refined—an emblem of cosmic harmony and abundance within the Purāṇic world-map.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic geography to Maitreya in this section?

Parāśara describes the world’s regions through vivid, concrete features—colors, textures, and splendor—so Maitreya can grasp the structured diversity of creation as an intelligible, ordered cosmos.

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

Even when not named in the verse, the ordered marvel of the world is presented as sustained by the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—whose sovereignty underlies the cosmos’ beauty, variety, and stability.