Varaha Purana - Adhyaya 88
Varaha PuranaAdhyaya 883 Shlokas

Adhyaya 88: Account of the Extents of Śālmaladvīpa, Gomedadvīpa, and Puṣkaradvīpa

Śālmaladvīpa–Gomedadvīpa–Puṣkaradvīpa-vistara-kathana

Ancient-Geography (Purāṇic Cosmography)

En el marco didáctico de Varāha y Pṛthivī, el capítulo conserva la enseñanza cosmográfica concisa de Rudra sobre el orden y la expansión proporcional de los dvīpas. Comienza con Śālmaladvīpa, de doble extensión que Krauñcadvīpa y rodeado por el océano de ghee (ghṛta-samudra), enumerando siete montañas principales, siete varṣas y sus ríos, con los kula-parvatas. Pasa luego a Gomedadvīpa, el sexto dvīpa, dos veces Śālmaladvīpa y circundado por un océano de licor (suroda), con dos montes principales, entre ellos Kumuda. Después presenta Puṣkaradvīpa, rodeado por el océano de jugo de caña (ikṣurasa), con el Mānasaparvata y un varṣa dividido en dos. Rudra concluye con la medida de la Tierra y del brahmāṇḍa, menciona innumerables huevos cósmicos y recuerda el acto de Nārāyaṇa en forma de jabalí que estabilizó la Tierra, antes de partir hacia Kailāsa.

Speakers

VarāhaPṛthivīRudra

Key Concepts

dvīpa-vistāra (proportional continental extents)samudra-pariveṣṭana (encircling oceans: ghṛta, suroda, ikṣurasa, svādūdaka)sapta-parvata / sapta-varṣa schemakula-parvata nomenclature and mineral-color imagerybrahmāṇḍa-pramāṇa (cosmic measurement)Varāha/Nārāyaṇa as stabilizer of Pṛthivī (earth-preservation motif)
Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana Adhyaya 88

Shlokas in Adhyaya 88

Verse 1

रुद्र उवाच । त्रिषु शिष्टेषु वक्ष्यामि द्वीपेषु मनुजान्युत । शाल्मलं पञ्चमं वर्षं प्रवक्ष्ये तन्निबोधत । क्रौञ्चद्वीपस्य विस्ताराच्छाल्मलो द्विगुणो मतः ॥ ८८.१ ॥

Dijo Rudra: «Oh el mejor de los hombres, hablaré ahora de los tres dvīpas restantes. Explicaré Śālmala, la quinta región (varṣa); préstame atenta comprensión. En extensión, Śālmala se considera el doble de Kraunca-dvīpa».

Verse 2

श्रीवराह उवाच । एवमुक्त्वा गतो रुद्रः क्षणाददृश्यमूर्तिमान् । ते च सर्वे गता देवा ऋषयश्च यथागतम् ॥ ८८.३ ॥

Dijo Śrī Varāha: «Habiendo hablado así, Rudra se marchó, volviéndose invisible en un instante; y todos aquellos dioses y sabios también se retiraron, cada cual regresando tal como había venido».

Verse 3

घृतसमुद्रमावृत्य व्यवस्थितस्तद्विस्तारो द्विगुणस्तत्र च सप्त पर्वताः प्रधानास्तावन्ति वर्षाणि तावत्यो नद्यः । तत्र च पर्वताः । सुमहान् पीतःशातकुम्भात् सार्वगुणसौवर्णरोहितसुमनसकुशल ----- जाम्बूनदवैद्युता इत्येते कुलपर्वता वर्षाणि चेति । अथ षष्ठं गोमेदं कथ्यते । शाल्मलं यथा सुरोदेनावृतं तद्वत् सुरोदोऽपि तद्द्विगुणेन गोमेदेनावृतः । तत्र च प्रधानपर्वतौ द्वावेव । एकस्य तावत्तावसरः । अपरश्च कुमुद इति । समुद्रश्चेक्षुरसस्तद्द्विगुणेन पुष्करेणावृतः । तत्र च पुष्कराख्ये मानसो नाम पर्वतः । तदपि द्विधा छिन्नं वर्षं तत्प्रमाणेन च । स्वादोदकेनावृतम् । ततश्च कटाहम् । एतत् पृथिव्याः प्रमाणम् । ब्रह्माण्डस्य च सकटाहविस्तारप्रमाणम् । एवंविधानामण्डानां परिसंख्यां न विद्यते । एतानि कल्पे कल्पे भगवान् नारायणः क्रोडरूपी रसातलान्तःप्रविष्टानि दंष्ट्रैकैनोद्धृत्य स्थितौ स्थापयति । एष वः कथितो मार्गो भूमेरायामविस्तरः । स्वस्ति वोऽस्तु गमिष्यामि कैलासं निलयं द्विजाः

Rodeada por el Océano de Ghee, su extensión queda establecida allí como doble; y hay siete montañas principales, tantos territorios (varṣas) y tantos ríos. Las montañas allí—Sumahān, Pīta, Śātakumbha, Sārvaguṇa, Sauvarṇa, Rohita, Sumanas, Kuśala, … Jāmbūnada, Vaidyuta—éstas son las montañas fronterizas (kula), y asimismo los territorios. Ahora se describe la sexta (dvīpa), Gomeda. Así como Śālmala está circundada por el Océano de Sura, del mismo modo el Océano de Sura está circundado por Gomeda en el doble de esa medida. Allí sólo hay dos montañas principales: una es Tāvat-tāvasara y la otra se llama Kumuda. El océano es de jugo de caña de azúcar (Ikṣurasa), circundado por Puṣkara al doble de esa medida. En la dvīpa llamada Puṣkara hay una montaña llamada Mānasa. Ese territorio también se divide en dos, proporcionalmente. Está circundado por el océano de Agua Dulce (Svādodaka); y luego (viene) el ‘caldero’ cósmico (kaṭāha). Ésta es la medida de la tierra, y también la medida de la expansión del brahmāṇḍa junto con su envoltura en forma de caldero. No se conoce el número de tales universos en forma de huevo. En cada kalpa, Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa, en forma de jabalí, entrando hasta el extremo de Rasātala, los alza con un solo colmillo y los establece en firmeza. Así os ha sido relatado el recorrido de la longitud y la anchura de la tierra. Que haya bienestar para vosotros; iré a Kailāsa, mi morada, oh nacidos dos veces.»

Inside Adhyaya 88

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī teaching frame, Rudra resumes cosmographic instruction, announcing he will describe the remaining dvīpas beyond those already covered, emphasizing proportional expansion and orderly arrangement.

  2. Central event

    Rudra details the extents and encircling oceans of Śālmaladvīpa (twice Krauñcadvīpa; surrounded by a ghṛta-samudra), then Gomedadvīpa (twice Śālmaladvīpa; surrounded by a suroda-samudra), and finally Puṣkaradvīpa (surrounded by an ikṣurasa-samudra), including their mountains, varṣa-divisions, and river systems in the standard sapta-parvata/sapta-varṣa idiom (with Puṣkara’s distinctive bifurcation).

  3. Climax resolution

    The cosmographic catalogue culminates in brahmāṇḍa-pramāṇa: Rudra states measures of Earth and the cosmic egg(s), notes innumerable brahmāṇḍas, and re-centers the entire mapping in the Varāha doctrine—Nārāyaṇa’s boar-form stabilizes Pṛthivī from rasātala, making cosmic measurement a teaching about terrestrial balance and preservation.

Geographical context

Purāṇic cosmographic regions: Śālmaladvīpa, Krauñcadvīpa, Gomedadvīpa, Puṣkaradvīpa; oceans/seas: ghṛta-samudra, suroda-samudra, ikṣurasa-samudra, svādūdaka; mountains: (kula-parvatas listed) Sumahān, Pīta, Śātakaumbha, Sārvaguṇa, Sauvarṇa, Rohita, Sumanas, Kuśala, Jāmbūnada, Vaidyuta; principal mountain: Kumuda; Mānasaparvata; Kailāsa; rasātala; kaṭāha (cosmic basin imagery).

Ritual instructions

  • BenefitNo explicit ritual-vidhi is taught; the chapter’s ‘benefit’ is doctrinal—contemplation of dvīpa-vistāra and samudra-pariveṣṭana as an expression of cosmic order upheld by Varāha/Nārāyaṇa’s stabilizing power.

The narrative frame

  • Rudra (within the broader Varāha–Pṛthivī instructional frame)Pṛthivī (and implicitly the Purāṇic audience of sages/gods) · Concise, enumerative, cosmographic; didactic with a concluding theological re-centering on Varāha.

The emotional journey

  • Dominant RasaAdbhuta (wonder) with a secondary Śānta (contemplative orderliness).
  • Emotional ProgressionFrom measured description (lists of extents, mountains, varṣas, rivers) → widening scale (dvīpa doubling and successive oceans) → cosmic vastness (innumerable brahmāṇḍas) → devotional-theological anchoring in Varāha as the guarantor of stability.

Planning a pilgrimage

  • Visit FeasibilityNot directly visitable as terrestrial pilgrimage sites; these are Purāṇic cosmographic regions used for contemplative mapping and theological instruction rather than geographic travel.

Frequently Asked Questions

The chapter frames cosmographic measurement as a doctrine of order and stability: Earth (Pṛthivī) is depicted as periodically stabilized by Nārāyaṇa in boar-form, implying that terrestrial balance is maintained through a larger cosmic governance rather than human ritual action in this passage.

No tithi, lunar month, seasonal (ṛtu), or calendrical markers are specified in Adhyaya 88; the content is primarily spatial and proportional (dvīpa and ocean extents) rather than ritual-timing instruction.

It explicitly connects Earth’s stability to the Varāha motif: Nārāyaṇa, taking a boar form, enters rasātala and raises/sets the worlds into a stable condition. This functions as an early preservation narrative where cosmic structure and Earth’s habitability depend on periodic restorative intervention.

No royal genealogies or administrative lineages are named here. The principal figures are Rudra (as instructor), Varāha/Nārāyaṇa (as cosmic stabilizer), and the implied audience of sages (ṛṣayaḥ) and gods (devāḥ).

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