Varaha Purana 75.39: Adhyaya 75, Shloka 39

Description of Jambūdvīpa: its regions, mountains, measurements, and cosmic structure

Devanagari script

परिमण्डलस्तयोर्मध्ये मेरुः कनकपर्वतः । चतुर्वर्णः ससौवर्णश्चतुरस्त्रः समुच्छ्रितः ॥ ७५.३९ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 75.39

Transliteration

parimaṇḍalas tayor madhye meruḥ kanakaparvataḥ | caturvarṇaḥ sasauvarṇaś caturastraḥ samucchritaḥ || 75.39 ||

Translation

En medio de aquellas regiones se halla el monte Meru, la montaña de oro: de forma circular; de cuádruple coloración, con fulgor dorado; de cuatro lados y de elevada altura.

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Word by Word

• परिमण्डलः: circular
• परिमण्डलः: विशेषण (Qualifier of मेरुः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि + मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् — 'circular/encircling'

• तयोः: of the two
• तयोः: सम्बन्ध (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, द्विवचन; 'of those two'

• मध्ये: in the middle
• मध्ये: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• मेरुः: Meru
• मेरुः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कनकपर्वतः: the golden mountain
• कनकपर्वतः: समानााधिकरण (Apposition to मेरुः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कनक + पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (कनकस्य पर्वतः / कनकमयः पर्वतः); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; मेरु-विशेषण/नाम

• चतुर्वर्णः: having four colors
• चतुर्वर्णः: विशेषण (Qualifier of मेरुः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् + वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समासः (चत्वारः वर्णाः यस्य); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• ससौवर्णः: with golden (splendor)
• ससौवर्णः: विशेषण (Qualifier of मेरुः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + सौवर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'स-' उपसर्गयुक्त विशेषणम् — 'with golden (portion)/golden'

• चतुरस्त्रः: four-sided
• चतुरस्त्रः: विशेषण (Qualifier of मेरुः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् + अस्त्र/अश्र (प्रातिपदिक: अस्त्र/अश्र = side/corner)
• Form: द्विगु-समासः (चत्वारः अस्त्राः/अश्राः यस्य = four-sided); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• समुच्छ्रितः: loftily elevated
• समुच्छ्रितः: विधेय (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + उत् + श्रि (धातु) + क्त (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — 'loftily raised'

Speaker

Varāha (instructor, default dialogic frame)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmography
• Vaiṣṇavism
• Ancient Geography

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a standard Purāṇic cosmographical motif—Mount Meru as the central axis of the world—useful for studying how premodern Sanskrit texts conceptualized sacred geography and cosmic space.

Which geographic location is identified?

Mount Meru is a cosmological (mythic) central mountain rather than a single empirically fixed site; scholars discuss its connections to broader Indo-Asian axis-mundi traditions rather than equating it straightforwardly with one modern mountain.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive; its philosophical function is to situate human and terrestrial realms within an ordered cosmic geography, a framework often used elsewhere in Purāṇas to ground cultural memory and place-based stewardship.