Shloka 16

लोकसंस्थानम्, ग्रहदूरी-प्रमाणम्, ब्रह्माण्डावरणानि, विष्णोः जगत्कारणत्वम्

Devanagari script

पादगम्यं तु यत् किंचिद् वस्त्व् अस्ति पृथिवीमयम् स भूर्लोकः समाख्यातो विस्तरो ऽस्य मयोदितः

Transliteration

pādagamyaṃ tu yat kiṃcid vastv asti pṛthivīmayam sa bhūrlokaḥ samākhyāto vistaro 'sya mayoditaḥ

Translation

Whatever may be traversed on foot—every tangible expanse constituted of the element of earth—is declared to be Bhūrloka, the terrestrial world. Its extent has thus been stated by me.

Word by Word

• pādagamyam: reachable on foot
• pādagamyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक) + gamya (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘पादेन गम्य’ (reachable by foot)

• tu: but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• yat: whatever which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• kiṃcit: anything, something
• kiṃcit: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक (indefinite)

• vastu: a thing, entity
• vastu: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vastu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विषय/कर्म (thing)

• asti: exists / is
• asti: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘is/exists’

• pṛthivīmayam: made of earth
• pṛthivīmayam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pṛthivī (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण; ‘पृथिवीमय’ = made of earth

• saḥ: that
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम; कर्ता

• bhūrlokaḥ: Bhūrloka (earth-world)
• bhūrlokaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūr (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता/विषय

• samākhyātaḥ: is designated
• samākhyātaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-khyā (धातु) → samākhyāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘is designated/called’

• vistaraḥ: the extent, expansion
• vistaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता (subject of ‘uditaḥ’)

• asya: of this
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive: of this)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; तृतीया, एकवचन; करण/कर्तृ (by me)

• uditaḥ: has been stated
• uditaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-i (धातु) → udita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘has been stated/uttered’

Speaker

Sage Parāśara

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Definition and extent of Bhūrloka as earth-constituted, foot-traversable realm

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Bhūrloka is defined by tangibility and earth-element constitution—what is physically traversable and materially grounded.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Treat embodied life as a specific field of practice: act ethically in the ‘walkable’ world and use material life as support for sādhana.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms the reality and meaningfulness of the material world (acit) as a mode of Brahman’s body, aligning with Viśiṣṭādvaita’s ontological realism.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Lakshmi Presence: Bhumi (earth)

Characters & Entities

• Bhūrloka
• Pṛthivī (earth element)

FAQs

What is the significance of Bhūrloka in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse defines Bhūrloka as the earth-constituted realm that is physically traversable, grounding the Purana’s cosmology in the tangible, inhabited world.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the concept of a 'loka' here?

Parāśara characterizes a loka by its substance (earth-element) and practical accessibility (walkable/inhabitable expanse), then states he has already described its extent.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even in a descriptive cosmological passage, the Vishnu Purana’s framework treats the ordered structure of lokas as part of the divinely sustained cosmos—ultimately upheld by Vishnu as the sovereign ground of reality.