Shloka 13

गर्भ-व्यवस्था, देवकी-गर्भ-स्तुति (गर्भस्तुतिः), जगदन्तर्गत-हरि-प्रतिपादनम्

Devanagari script

तथासंख्या जगद्धात्रि साम्प्रतं जठरे तव समुद्रादिनदीद्वीपवनपत्तनभूषणा ग्रामखर्वटखेटाढ्या समस्ता पृथिवी शुभे

Transliteration

tathāsaṃkhyā jagaddhātri sāmprataṃ jaṭhare tava samudrādinadīdvīpavanapattanabhūṣaṇā grāmakharvaṭakheṭāḍhyā samastā pṛthivī śubhe

Translation

So too, O auspicious one—O sustainer of the worlds—at this very moment the entire Earth abides within your womb: adorned with oceans and rivers, with islands and forests, with cities as her ornaments, and filled with villages, market-towns, and settlements.

Word by Word

• तथा: thus; likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• असंख्या: countless
• असंख्या: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: असंख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — feminine nominative singular adjective

• जगद्धात्रि: O sustainer of the world
• जगद्धात्रि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + धात्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जगतः धात्री) — vocative singular

• साम्प्रतम्: now; at present
• साम्प्रतम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: साम्प्रतम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) — कालवाचक

• जठरे: in the belly; in the womb
• जठरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जठर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — locative singular

• तव: your
• तव: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन — genitive singular (2nd person)

• समुद्रादिनदीद्वीपवनपत्तनभूषणा: adorned with oceans, rivers, islands, forests, and cities
• समुद्रादिनदीद्वीपवनपत्तनभूषणा: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + नदी (प्रातिपदिक) + द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक) + वन (प्रातिपदिक) + पत्तन (प्रातिपदिक) + भूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः: (समुद्र-आदि-नदी-द्वीप-वन-पत्तन) इत्येतैः भूषणा — feminine nominative singular adjective

• ग्रामखर्वटखेटाढ्या: rich with villages, hamlets, and towns
• ग्रामखर्वटखेटाढ्या: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक) + खर्वट (प्रातिपदिक) + खेट (प्रातिपदिक) + आढ्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः: (ग्राम-खर्वट-खेट) इत्येतैः आढ्या ‘समृद्धा’ — feminine nominative singular adjective

• समस्ता: entire; whole
• समस्ता: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — feminine nominative singular adjective

• पृथिवी: the earth
• पृथिवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — feminine nominative singular

• शुभे: O auspicious one
• शुभे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन — vocative singular

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya; the verse itself addresses a divine feminine figure—typically Devakī/Yoga-māyā in Krishna-context recensions)

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Secondary

Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas (regions)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: As Krishna, the Supreme is praised (through the Goddess as jagaddhātrī) as containing the whole Earth within, affirming his all-pervading sovereignty over the manifest world.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: World-order: the integrity and sustenance of Bhūmi with her oceans, rivers, forests, and settlements.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The entire Earth with all its features abides within the divine matrix, teaching that the world is upheld from within by the Supreme’s sustaining power.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Treat the natural world and human settlements as sacred trust (stewardship), practicing reverence and restraint as devotion.

Vishishtadvaita: Immanence: the world truly exists as supported within the divine (not dismissed as mere illusion), aligning with Viśiṣṭādvaita’s real cosmology under God’s governance.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Lakshmi Presence: Bhumi

Antaryamin: Yes

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Earth (Pṛthivī)
• Oceans (Samudra)
• Rivers (Nadī)
• Islands/continents (Dvīpa)
• Forests (Vana)
• Cities (Pattana)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Earth being described as residing in a divine womb in the Vishnu Purana?

It conveys divine sovereignty: the whole world—its geography and civilization—exists dependent on and contained within higher divine power, not as an independent reality.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmic containment and order in this passage?

By listing oceans, rivers, continents, forests, cities, and villages, he emphasizes that the totality of creation is comprehensively held and governed within the divine, indicating an ordered cosmos under supreme oversight.

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

Even when the verse speaks through a maternal or feminine address, the underlying Vaishnava teaching remains that the universe is sustained by the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—whose power encompasses and supports all realms and beings.