Shloka 10
सप्तद्वीप-समुद्र-प्रमाणम्: प्लक्षादि-द्वीपवर्णनं, लोकालोक-सीमा, चन्द्र-समुद्र-वृद्धिक्षयः
तेषां नद्यश् च सप्तैव वर्षाणां तु समुद्रगाः नामतस् ताः प्रवक्ष्यामि श्रुताः पापं हरन्ति याः
teṣāṃ nadyaś ca saptaiva varṣāṇāṃ tu samudragāḥ nāmatas tāḥ pravakṣyāmi śrutāḥ pāpaṃ haranti yāḥ
Et pour ces sept varṣa, il existe aussi sept fleuves, tous s’écoulant vers l’océan. Je vais maintenant les énoncer par leurs noms—des fleuves dont la seule écoute efface le péché.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
FAQs
This verse frames the river-list as sacred geography: naming and hearing these rivers is presented as spiritually purifying, while also structuring the Purana’s cosmological map of the world.
Parāśara states that these rivers “remove sin when heard,” emphasizing a Purāṇic principle that attentive listening to holy names and sacred enumerations carries dharmic merit.
Even in geographic description, the Vishnu Purana treats cosmic order as meaningful within dharma: the world’s regions and rivers are part of an ordered creation sustained under Vishnu’s sovereignty, and remembering them becomes a purificatory act.