Vamana Purana — Structure of Jambudvipa, Shloka 42
The Structure of Jambudvipa: Nine Varshas, Navadvipa Bharata, Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples
औरसाश्चालिमद्राश्च किरातानां च जातयः तामसाः क्रममासाश्च सुपार्श्वाः पुण्ड्रकास्तथा
aurasāścālimadrāśca kirātānāṃ ca jātayaḥ tāmasāḥ kramamāsāśca supārśvāḥ puṇḍrakāstathā
Les Aurasas et les Alimadras, ainsi que les diverses tribus des Kirātas ; les Tāmasas et les Kramamāsas ; de même les Supārśvas et les Puṇḍrakas.
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FAQs
The verse underscores the Purāṇic habit of recognizing diverse human communities as part of a single mapped world. It can be read as an invitation to see dharma operating across many habitats—plains, hills, forests, and distant regions.
Primarily cosmographical/earth-description material (a practical Purāṇic component used to frame narratives of kings, pilgrimages, and cultural boundaries), indirectly supporting vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita contexts.
Kirātas often symbolize liminal spaces—forests and mountains—where ‘civilizational’ and ‘wild’ meet. Their inclusion alongside Puṇḍrakas (an eastern settled region) symbolically spans the spectrum of landscapes within the Purāṇic imagined polity.