Shloka 52

नरक-निर्णयः, पाप-कर्म-फल-व्यवस्था, प्रायश्चित्त-क्रमः, तथा हरि-स्मरण-परमत्वम्

Devanagari script

एवम् एतन् मयाख्यातं भवतो मण्डलं भुवः पातालानि च सर्वाणि तथैव नरका द्विज

Transliteration

evam etan mayākhyātaṃ bhavato maṇḍalaṃ bhuvaḥ pātālāni ca sarvāṇi tathaiva narakā dvija

Translation

Thus have I declared to you the full circuit of the earth—Bhū-maṇḍala—as well as all the Pātālas, and likewise the realms of hell, O twice-born one.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus, in this manner
• एवम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner: “thus”)

• एतत्: this (matter)
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; तृतीया (3rd case/instrumental), एकवचन

• आख्यातम्: has been explained/told
• आख्यातम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-ख्या (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे “has been told”

• भवतः: of you, your
• भवतः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th case/genitive), एकवचन; आदरार्थ-प्रयोग (honorific “your”)

• मण्डलम्: sphere/region, circle (cosmic region)
• मण्डलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• भुवः: of the earth/world
• भुवः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th case/genitive), एकवचन

• पातालानि: the netherworlds (Pātālas)
• पातालानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• सर्वाणि: all
• सर्वाणि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying pātālāni, narakāḥ)

• तथा: likewise, so
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/तुल्यतावाचक (adverb: “so, likewise”)

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात (particle of emphasis: “indeed/just”)

• नरकाः: hells
• नरकाः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचन

• द्विज: O twice-born (Brāhmaṇa)
• द्विज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th case/vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Sacred geography and the vertical cosmography: Bhū-maṇḍala, Pātālas, and Narakas

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The cosmos includes ordered strata—earth’s circuit, nether regions, and hells—within a coherent moral and spatial universe.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Contemplate causality and ethical consequence (karma-phala) alongside the vastness of cosmic order to strengthen dharma-oriented living.

Vishishtadvaita: Implicitly supports an ordered universe governed by a supreme regulator, where moral law operates within cosmic structure.

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Bhū-maṇḍala
• Pātāla
• Naraka

FAQs

What is the significance of Bhū-maṇḍala in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse, Bhū-maṇḍala is presented as a complete mapped “earth-circle,” forming the foundation for the Purana’s ordered vision of the universe and its moral-spatial structure.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the lower realms like Pātāla and Naraka?

He frames them as part of a systematic cosmological account—netherworlds (Pātālas) and hells (Narakas)—told sequentially to Maitreya as an integrated description of the universe.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s cosmology is implicitly grounded in Vishnu’s supreme governance, where all realms—earth, netherworlds, and hells—exist within divine order.