Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 83
Jyotiṣa-śāstra Saṅgraha: Threefold Division, Gaṇita Methods, Muhūrta, and Planetary Reckoning
विलोमगतयः पातास्तद्वञ्चक्राष्विशोधिताः । योजनानि शतान्यष्टौ भूकर्णौ द्विगुणाः स्मृतः ॥ ८३ ॥
vilomagatayaḥ pātāstadvañcakrāṣviśodhitāḥ | yojanāni śatānyaṣṭau bhūkarṇau dviguṇāḥ smṛtaḥ || 83 ||
On dit que les régions de Pātāla ont des courses contraires (inversées) ; et là, les roues trompeuses (cycles) ne sont pas purifiées, demeurant déroutantes. Les « oreilles de la terre » sont mémorisées comme mesurant huit cents yojanas, et la mesure suivante est déclarée en être le double.
Sanatkumara (in dialogue with Narada)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It frames the nether realms (Pātālas) as zones of inversion and confusion—symbolically contrasting with clarity that supports mokṣa—while also preserving the Purāṇic tradition of sacred cosmographical measures.
Indirectly: by depicting realms marked by deception and reversed movement, it implies that steadiness of mind and right orientation—best stabilized through Viṣṇu-bhakti and dharma—protects one from भ्रम (delusion).
It reflects technical Purāṇic cosmography and traditional metrology (yojana-based measurement), aligning with the broader ‘Vedic sciences’ approach to mapping worlds and distances used in ritual and calendrical imagination.