Shloka 40

प्रियव्रतवंशवर्णनम् — सप्तद्वीपविभागः, जम्बूद्वीप-वर्षविभागः, भरत-नामकरणम्

Devanagari script

विष्वग्ज्योतिःप्रधानास् ते यैर् इमा वर्धिताः प्रजाः तैर् इदं भारतं वर्षं नवभेदम् अलंकृतम्

Transliteration

viṣvagjyotiḥpradhānās te yair imā vardhitāḥ prajāḥ tair idaṃ bhārataṃ varṣaṃ navabhedam alaṃkṛtam

Translation

वे सर्वव्यापी तेज में अग्रणी महापुरुष, जिनके द्वारा ये प्रजाएँ पोषित और बढ़ाई गईं; उन्हीं ने इस भारतवर्ष को नौ भेदों में विभक्त कर सुशोभित किया।

Word by Word

विष्वक्everywhere, universally

ज्योतिःlight, radiance

प्रधानाःchief, foremost

तेthey, those

यैःby whom/with which

इमाःthese

वर्धिताःwere increased, were made to grow

प्रजाःcreatures, subjects, progeny

तैःby them

इदम्this

भारतंBhārata

वर्षम्region/land (varṣa)

नवnine

भेदम्division, distinction

अलंकृतम्adorned, arranged, furnished

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Parāśara

Maitreya

Bhārata-varṣa

Prajāḥ (subjects/peoples)

FAQs

What is the significance of the nine divisions (nava-bheda) of Bhārata-varṣa in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames Bhārata-varṣa as intentionally ordered into nine divisions, presenting sacred geography as a dharmic structure shaped by illustrious nurturers of the people, not as a random landscape.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the relationship between rulers and the flourishing of prajāḥ (subjects)?

Parāśara highlights that the prosperity and increase of prajāḥ depend on pre-eminent, radiant leaders—those who sustain society through order and protection—thereby ‘adorning’ the land through governance.

What is the theological importance of Lord Viṣṇu in this context of geography and sovereignty?

Even when Viṣṇu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic worldview treats righteous sovereignty and ordered geography as expressions of Viṣṇu’s sustaining power—cosmic order mirrored in human administration.