Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 54, Shloka 1
Adhyaya 54 — Cosmography of Jambudvipa: Continents, Oceans, Varshas, and Mount Meru
कrauष्टुकिरुवाच ।
कति द्वीपाः समुद्राः वा पर्वताः वा कति द्विज ।
कियन्ति चैव वर्षाणि तेषां नद्यश्च का मुने ॥
krauṣṭukir uvāca |
kati dvīpāḥ samudrā vā parvatā vā kati dvija |
kiyanti caiva varṣāṇi teṣāṃ nadyaś ca kā mune ||
क्रौष्टुकि ने कहा—हे द्विज! कितने द्वीप हैं, कितने समुद्र और कितने पर्वत? और कितने वर्ष (प्रदेश) हैं, तथा उनकी नदियाँ कौन-सी हैं, हे मुनि?
{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The Purāṇa models śāstric learning as precise questioning: the student asks for enumerations and names, implying that right understanding begins with clear categories and careful curiosity.
It introduces the cosmographic expansion that supports Sarga (world-structure) and Manvantara (world-order across time), though this verse itself is the prastāvanā (opening inquiry).
Counting dvīpas and mapping rivers can symbolize charting the ‘inner world’—distinct domains of experience and the ‘streams’ (nadīs/flows) through which consciousness moves.