Varaha Purana 80.3: Adhyaya 80, Shloka 3
Cosmographic Ordering of the Southern and Western Quarters: Valleys, Forest-Plateaus, and Sacred Sites
तत्र प्रसन्नस्वादुसलिला बहूदका नद्यः वहन्ति । तत्राश्रमो भगवतः कर्दमस्य प्रजापतेः । नानामुनिजनाकीर्णस् तच्च शतयोजनम् एकं परिमण्डलं वनं च । तथा च ताम्राभस्य शैलस्य पतङ्गस्य चान्तरे शतयोजनविस्तीर्णं द्विगुणायतं बालार्कसदृशराजीवपुण्डरीकैः समन्ततः सहस्रपत्रैरविरलैरलङ्कृतं महत्सरः । अनेकसिद्धगन्धर्वाध्युषितम् ॥ ८०.३ ॥
tatra prasanna-svādu-salilā bahūdakā nadyo vahanti | tatrāśramo bhagavataḥ kardamasya prajāpateḥ | nānā-muni-janākīrṇas tac ca śata-yojanam ekaṃ parimaṇḍalaṃ vanaṃ ca | tathā ca tāmrābhasya śailasya pataṅgasya cāntare śata-yojana-vistīrṇaṃ dviguṇāyataṃ bālārka-sadṛśa-rājīva-puṇḍarīkaiḥ samantataḥ sahasra-patrair aviralair alaṅkṛtaṃ mahat saraḥ | aneka-siddha-gandharvādhyuṣitam || 80.3 ||
Allí fluyen muchos ríos de aguas claras y dulces, con abundantes corrientes. Allí está el āśrama del venerable Prajāpati Kardama, colmado de numerosos sabios; y también hay un bosque circular que se extiende por cien yojanas. Asimismo, entre el monte Tamrābha y el monte Pataṅga se halla un gran lago, de cien yojanas de ancho y el doble de largo, adornado por todas partes con densos lotos de mil pétalos y lotos blancos, semejantes al sol naciente, y habitado por muchos siddhas y gandharvas.
Varāha (default dialogue frame; speaker not explicit in excerpt)
FAQs
It exemplifies Purāṇic sacred-geography writing: mapping āśramas, forests, mountains, and lakes into a cultural landscape that links ascetic communities (munis) with idealized water resources and protected natural zones.
The verse names the āśrama of Prajāpati Kardama and references the Tamrābha and Pataṅga mountains with an intervening lake. Without additional adjoining verses, these toponyms cannot be securely matched to a single modern site; they are best treated as internal Purāṇic place-names used to structure a sacred landscape.
Implicitly, the passage models environmental stewardship through the depiction of abundant, sweet waters, forest extent, and a lotus-filled lake—presenting water bodies and forests as valued heritage spaces associated with disciplined habitation (āśrama) rather than exploitation.
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