Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 6

Rāhu, Eclipses, Antarikṣa, and the Seven Subterranean Heavens

Bila-svarga

Devanagari script

ततोऽधस्ताच्छतयोजनान्तर इयं पृथिवी यावद्धंसभासश्येनसुपर्णादय: पतत्‍त्रिप्रवरा उत्पतन्तीति ॥ ६ ॥

Transliteration

tato ’dhastāc chata-yojanāntara iyaṁ pṛthivī yāvad dhaṁsa-bhāsa-śyena-suparṇādayaḥ patattri-pravarā utpatantīti.

Translation

A cien yojanas por debajo de los lugares de recreo de los Yakṣas y Rākṣasas se halla la Tierra. Su límite superior llega hasta la altura a la que pueden volar cisnes, halcones, águilas y otras grandes aves semejantes.

Synonyms

• tataḥ: below that/thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb

• adhastāt: beneath
• adhastāt: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adhastāt (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb of place

• śata-yojana-antare: at a distance of one hundred yojanas
• śata-yojana-antare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/सप्तमी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata + yojana + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular; तत्पुरुष: ‘in an interval of a hundred yojanas’

• iyam: this
• iyam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st), Singular; demonstrative pronoun

• pṛthivī: earth
• pṛthivī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛthivī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• yāvat: as far as
• yāvat: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; correlative ‘as far as’

• haṁsa-bhāsa-śyena-suparṇa-ādayaḥ: geese, vultures, hawks, suparṇas, and others
• haṁsa-bhāsa-śyena-suparṇa-ādayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: haṁsa + bhāsa + śyena + suparṇa + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural; itaretara-dvandva list with ādayaḥ ‘and others’

• patattri-pravarāḥ: the foremost birds
• patattri-pravarāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patattrin + pravara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural; तत्पुरुष: ‘the best among birds’

• utpatanti: fly up/soar
• utpatanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√pat (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (Present), Parasmaipada, 3rd Person, Plural

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (इति)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the distance to the Earth in Canto 5?

This verse states that the earthly plane (pṛthivī) is situated one hundred yojanas below the previously described region.

Why is the flight of birds mentioned in Bhagavatam 5.24.6?

Śukadeva uses a familiar natural benchmark—how high great birds can fly—to indicate the extent of the earthly region being described.

Practical application of Bhagavata cosmology in modern devotional life?

It cultivates humility and God-centered perspective by reminding a devotee that the cosmos is vast and systematically governed, encouraging steadiness in bhakti rather than material pride.