Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 6

Bhū-maṇḍala as a Lotus: Jambūdvīpa, Ilāvṛta, and the Meru System

Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, and Brahmapurī

Devanagari script

यस्मिन्नव वर्षाणि नवयोजनसहस्रायामान्यष्टभिर्मर्यादागिरिभि: सुविभक्तानि भवन्ति ॥ ६ ॥

Transliteration

yasmin nava varṣāṇi nava-yojana-sahasrāyāmāny aṣṭabhir maryādā-giribhiḥ suvibhaktāni bhavanti.

Translation

Dans Jambūdvīpa se trouvent neuf varṣas (régions), chacune longue de neuf mille yojanas ; huit montagnes-frontières en marquent les limites et les séparent avec harmonie.

Synonyms

• यस्मिन्: in which
• यस्मिन्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun); नपुंसकलिङ्गे/पुंलिङ्गे (contextual), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (singular); अधिकरण (locative)

• नव: nine
• नव: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-विशेषण; नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन (plural); वर्षाणि इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• वर्षाणि: regions/lands (varṣas)
• वर्षाणि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन (plural)

• नव-योजन-सहस्र-आयामानि: having a length of nine thousand yojanas
• नव-योजन-सहस्र-आयामानि: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव (संख्या) + योजन (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आयाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (compound): तत्पुरुष (determinative) — 'नवयोजनसहस्रस्य आयामः' इति; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; वर्षाणि इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• अष्टभिः: by eight
• अष्टभिः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; गिरिभिः इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• मर्यादा-गिरिभिः: by boundary mountains
• मर्यादा-गिरिभिः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्यादा (प्रातिपदिक) + गिरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: तत्पुरुष — 'मर्यादायाः गिरयः' (boundary mountains); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• सु-विभक्तानि: well-divided
• सु-विभक्तानि: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृ-समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-भज् (धातु) → विभक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + सु- (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त); अव्ययीभाव-समास (su + vibhakta = well-divided); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; वर्षाणि इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• भवन्ति: are/come to be
• भवन्ति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (plural), परस्मैपद

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura gives the following quotation from the Vāyu Purāṇa, wherein the locations of the various mountains, beginning with the Himālayas, are described.

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the nine varshas of Jambudvipa?

This verse states that Jambūdvīpa contains nine varṣas, each measuring nine thousand yojanas in length, separated distinctly by eight boundary mountain ranges.

Who is describing Jambudvipa in Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 5 Chapter 16?

Śukadeva Gosvāmī is speaking, describing the structure of Jambūdvīpa to Mahārāja Parīkṣit as part of the Bhagavatam’s cosmological narration.

What is a practical takeaway from Bhagavatam’s sacred geography descriptions?

They cultivate a sense of divine order and purposeful design in creation, encouraging humility and remembrance that the world is structured under the Lord’s arrangement.