Vamana Purana — Structure of Jambudvipa, Shloka 37
The Structure of Jambudvipa: Nine Varshas, Navadvipa Bharata, Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples
वाह्लीका वाटधानाश्च आभीराः कालतोयकाः अपरान्तास्तथा शूद्राः पह्लावाश्च सखेटकाः
vāhlīkā vāṭadhānāśca ābhīrāḥ kālatoyakāḥ aparāntāstathā śūdrāḥ pahlāvāśca sakheṭakāḥ
«S’y ajoutent les Vāhlīkas, les Vāṭadhānas, les Ābhīras, les Kālatoyakas ; de même les Aparāntas, les Śūdras, les Pahlavas et les Sakheṭakas.»
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The verse functions descriptively rather than prescriptively: it situates the Purāṇa’s sacred landscape within a broader human geography, implying that dharma and pilgrimage discourse addresses a world of diverse peoples beyond a single region.
Best aligned with ancillary material supporting Vamśānucarita/Manvantara-style world descriptions (often folded into ‘vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita’ or general cosmographical-ethnographical narration rather than sarga/pratisarga proper).
Lists of ‘janapadas’ and ‘jātis’ symbolically universalize the text’s scope: sacred order (dharma) is portrayed as spanning many lands and cultures, mapping the moral-religious cosmos onto the inhabited world.