Shloka 90

सप्तद्वीप-समुद्र-प्रमाणम्: प्लक्षादि-द्वीपवर्णनं, लोकालोक-सीमा, चन्द्र-समुद्र-वृद्धिक्षयः

Devanagari script

अन्यूनानतिरिक्ताश् च वर्धन्त्य् आपो ह्रसन्ति च उदयास्तमयेष्व् इन्दोः पक्षयोः शुक्लकृष्णयोः

Transliteration

anyūnānatiriktāś ca vardhanty āpo hrasanti ca udayāstamayeṣv indoḥ pakṣayoḥ śuklakṛṣṇayoḥ

Translation

En las quincenas clara y oscura de la Luna, en sus salidas y puestas, las aguas—sin menguar ni exceder su medida—alternan su aumento y su descenso.

Word by Word

अ-न्यून-अ-नतिरिक्ताःneither less nor more (unchanged in amount)

चand

वर्धन्तिincrease

आपःwaters

ह्रसन्तिdecrease

चand

उदय-अस्तमयेषुat risings and settings

इन्दोःof the moon

पक्षयोःin the two fortnights

शुक्ल-कृष्णयोः(of/in) the bright and dark (fortnights)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Moon (Indu/Chandra)

Waters (Āpaḥ)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Moon’s phases (śukla-kṛṣṇa pakṣa) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents the lunar fortnights as a governing rhythm of nature: the waxing and waning moon corresponds to the measured increase and decrease of waters, illustrating an orderly cosmos rather than random fluctuation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the regulation of natural phenomena like the waters’ rise and fall?

Parāśara frames it as lawful and proportionate (“neither deficient nor excessive”), tied to the Moon’s rising and setting across the two pakṣas—showing nature operating under a stable cosmic rule.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purāṇic cosmology implies a supreme sustaining intelligence behind consistent natural cycles—an expression of Vishnu as the maintainer of order (dharma/ṛta) in the universe.