Shloka 20
Adhyāya 108: Paścima-dik—Varuṇa’s Realm, Sunset Cosmology, and Sacred-Geographic Markers
Suparṇa–Gālava संवाद
तक्षकेण च नागेन तथैवैरावतेन च । दक्षिणमें ही वासुकिद्वारा पालित तथा तक्षक एवं ऐरावत नागद्वारा सुरक्षित भोगवती नामक पुरी है ।। अत्र निर्याणकालेडपि तम: सम्प्राप्पते महत्
Takṣakeṇa ca nāgena tathaivairāvatena ca | dakṣiṇam e hi vāsuki-dvārā pālita tathā takṣaka evaṁ airāvata-nāga-dvārā surakṣitā bhogavatī nāma purī hai || atra niryāṇa-kāle 'pi tamaḥ samprāpyate mahat ||
Yuparṇa dit : «Dans la région du Sud se trouve la cité nommée Bhogavatī. Elle est gardée à la porte de Vāsuki, et pareillement protégée par le serpent Takṣaka et par Airāvata. Même lorsqu’on s’en éloigne, on rencontre une grande obscurité.»
युपर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the idea of guarded thresholds and the moral weight of entering certain realms: even a place of power and protection (Bhogavatī, defended by great nāgas) can be associated with ominous experience—symbolized by “great darkness” at departure—suggesting that not all protected domains are spiritually or ethically safe to traverse.
Yuparṇa describes the southern region’s nāga-city Bhogavatī and names its principal guardians—Vāsuki at the gate, along with Takṣaka and Airāvata—adding that one encounters profound darkness even when leaving that place, emphasizing its formidable and uncanny nature.