Shloka 21

Sapta-dvīpa Catalog: Plakṣa to Puṣkara, Mānasottara, and the Lokāloka Boundary

Devanagari script

द्विगुणा काञ्चनी भूमिः सर्वजन्तुविवर्जिता / लोकालोकस्ततः शैलो योजनायुताविस्तृतः / तमसा पर्वतो व्याप्तस्तमो ऽप्यण्डकटाहतः

Transliteration

dviguṇā kāñcanī bhūmiḥ sarvajantuvivarjitā / lokālokastataḥ śailo yojanāyutāvistṛtaḥ / tamasā parvato vyāptastamo 'pyaṇḍakaṭāhataḥ

Translation

Más allá se extiende una tierra áurea, doble en medida, desprovista de todo ser viviente. Luego se alza el monte Lokāloka, extendido por diez mil yojanas. Ese monte está envuelto en tinieblas, y aun esas tinieblas quedan ceñidas por la cáscara del huevo cósmico.

Word by Word

• द्विगुणा: twofold; double
• द्विगुणा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• काञ्चनी: golden
• काञ्चनी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काञ्चन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• भूमिः: earth/land
• भूमिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• सर्वजन्तुविवर्जिता: devoid of all creatures
• सर्वजन्तुविवर्जिता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + जन्तु + विवर्जित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle) 'विवर्जित', स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• लोकालोकः: Lokāloka (name; 'world and non-world')
• लोकालोकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक + अलोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• ततः: then; thereafter/from there
• ततः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: तस्मात्/ततः इत्यर्थे अव्यय (adverb: 'then/from there')

• शैलः: mountain
• शैलः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• योजनायुताविस्तृतः: extended to ten-thousand yojanas
• योजनायुताविस्तृतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: योजन + अयुत + विस्तृत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle) 'विस्तृत', पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); परिमाणवाचक-पूर्वपद (extent-measure)

• तमसा: by darkness
• तमसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• पर्वतः: mountain
• पर्वतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• व्याप्तः: pervaded/covered
• व्याप्तः: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + आप् (धातु) → व्याप्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• तमः: darkness
• तमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/सम्भावना-अव्यय (particle: 'also/even')

• अण्डकटाहतः: struck/contained by the cosmic egg-cauldron (brahmāṇḍa enclosure)
• अण्डकटाहतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अण्ड + कटाह + हत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle) 'हत', पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular) (agreeing with तमः)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: All manifested realms have a boundary; beyond the domain of beings is darkness and enclosure—prompting inquiry into the unbounded (Brahman).

Vedantic Theme: Neti-neti by implication: even cosmic light ends; the seeker turns from loka to aloka toward the limitless substratum.

Application: Reflect on limits of sensory knowledge; cultivate inwardness and discrimination (viveka) when confronting the 'edge' of understanding.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Geographic Context

Type: liminal land and boundary mountain at the edge of the world-system

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.56.19-20 (approach to the boundary)

Characters & Entities

• Lokāloka Mountain
• Tamas (darkness)
• Brahmāṇḍa (cosmic egg)

FAQs

What is the importance of Lokāloka Mountain in the Garuda Purana?

This verse presents Lokāloka as the great boundary-marker: the transition point after which the region is described as engulfed by darkness, indicating the cosmological limit of the illumined worlds.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Indirectly, it frames the Purana’s map of existence—showing that the cosmos has defined limits (Lokāloka and the brahmāṇḍa shell). Such cosmography supports later descriptions of other-worldly realms and routes, even when the soul’s journey is discussed in moral/ritual contexts.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

It encourages humility and perspective: human life unfolds within a vast, ordered cosmos, reinforcing dharmic living and reverence for scriptural teachings about the unseen structure of reality.