Varaha Purana - Adhyaya 88
Varaha PuranaAdhyaya 883 Shlokas

Adhyaya 88: Account of the Extents of Śālmaladvīpa, Gomedadvīpa, and Puṣkaradvīpa

Śālmaladvīpa-Gomedadvīpa-Puṣkaradvīpa-vistara-kathana

Ancient-Geography (Purāṇic Cosmography)

Rudra ne Varaha aur Prithvi ko dvip ke baare mein bataya. Pehle Shalmaladvipa tha jo Krauncadvipa se dugna bada hai. Iske charon taraf ghee ka samundar hai aur saat pahar hain. Phir Gomedadvipa aata hai jo Shalmaladvipa se dugna hai. Iske around sharab jaisa samundar hai aur Kumuda jaise pahar hain. Aage Pushkaradvipa hai jise ganne ke ras ka samunder ghera hai. Rudra ne dharti aur brahmand ke map bataye aur boar wala roop yaad kiya. Akhri mein woh Kailasa chale gaye.

Speakers

VarāhaPṛthivīRudra

Key Concepts

dvīpa-vistāra (proportional continental extents)samudra-pariveṣṭana (encircling oceans: ghṛta, suroda, ikṣurasa, svādūdaka)sapta-parvata / sapta-varṣa schemakula-parvata nomenclature and mineral-color imagerybrahmāṇḍa-pramāṇa (cosmic measurement)Varāha/Nārāyaṇa as stabilizer of Pṛthivī (earth-preservation motif)
Recitation with translationVaraha Purana Adhyaya 88

Shlokas in Adhyaya 88

Verse 1

रुद्र उवाच । त्रिषु शिष्टेषु वक्ष्यामि द्वीपेषु मनुजान्युत । शाल्मलं पञ्चमं वर्षं प्रवक्ष्ये तन्निबोधत । क्रौञ्चद्वीपस्य विस्ताराच्छाल्मलो द्विगुणो मतः ॥ ८८.१ ॥

Rudra bole, main ab bataunga ki baaki teen dweep kya hain. Panchwa varsh Shalmala hai, isko dhyan se suno. Shalmala itna bada hai ki Kraunch dweep se dugna hai.

Verse 2

श्रीवराह उवाच । एवमुक्त्वा गतो रुद्रः क्षणाददृश्यमूर्तिमान् । ते च सर्वे गता देवा ऋषयश्च यथागतम् ॥ ८८.३ ॥

Shri Varah ne kaha, itna bol ke Rudra chala gaya. Ek pal mein woh gayab ho gaya. Saare devi-devta bhi chale gaye. Rishi bhi wapas apne-apne jagah chale gaye.

Verse 3

घृतसमुद्रमावृत्य व्यवस्थितस्तद्विस्तारो द्विगुणस्तत्र च सप्त पर्वताः प्रधानास्तावन्ति वर्षाणि तावत्यो नद्यः । तत्र च पर्वताः । सुमहान् पीतःशातकुम्भात् सार्वगुणसौवर्णरोहितसुमनसकुशल ----- जाम्बूनदवैद्युता इत्येते कुलपर्वता वर्षाणि चेति । अथ षष्ठं गोमेदं कथ्यते । शाल्मलं यथा सुरोदेनावृतं तद्वत् सुरोदोऽपि तद्द्विगुणेन गोमेदेनावृतः । तत्र च प्रधानपर्वतौ द्वावेव । एकस्य तावत्तावसरः । अपरश्च कुमुद इति । समुद्रश्चेक्षुरसस्तद्द्विगुणेन पुष्करेणावृतः । तत्र च पुष्कराख्ये मानसो नाम पर्वतः । तदपि द्विधा छिन्नं वर्षं तत्प्रमाणेन च । स्वादोदकेनावृतम् । ततश्च कटाहम् । एतत् पृथिव्याः प्रमाणम् । ब्रह्माण्डस्य च सकटाहविस्तारप्रमाणम् । एवंविधानामण्डानां परिसंख्यां न विद्यते । एतानि कल्पे कल्पे भगवान् नारायणः क्रोडरूपी रसातलान्तःप्रविष्टानि दंष्ट्रैकैनोद्धृत्य स्थितौ स्थापयति । एष वः कथितो मार्गो भूमेरायामविस्तरः । स्वस्ति वोऽस्तु गमिष्यामि कैलासं निलयं द्विजाः

Ghee ke samundar ke andar yeh dweep hai, dugna bada. Wahan saat main pahad hain, utne hi desh aur utni hi nadiyan. Pahad hain Sumahan, Peet, Shatakumbh, Sarvagun, Sauvarn, Rohit, Sumanas, Kushal, Jambunad, Vaidyut. Yeh sab pahad hain aur desh bhi hain. Ab chatha dweep Gomed aata hai. Jaise Shalmal Suroda samundar se ghira hai, waise hi Suroda Gomed se ghira hai jo dugna bada hai. Wahan sirf do main pahad hain, Tavtavas aur Kumud. Samundar ganne ka ras hai, uske charo taraf Pushkar hai jo dugna bada hai. Pushkar dweep mein Manas pahad hai. Woh do hisson mein banta hai. Uske charo taraf meetha paani ka samundar hai. Phir ek bada kadhahi aata hai. Yeh dharti ka naap hai aur brahmand ka bhi. Aise brahmand ginne mein nahi aate. Har kalpa mein Bhagwan Narayan suar ban ke rasatal mein jaate hain. Ek daant se utha ke sabko sthir karte hain. Yeh dharti ka poora hissa maine tumhe bataya. Ab main Kailash chalta hoon, mera ghar wahi hai.

Inside Adhyaya 88

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī teaching frame, Rudra resumes cosmographic instruction, announcing he will describe the remaining dvīpas beyond those already covered, emphasizing proportional expansion and orderly arrangement.

  2. Central event

    Rudra details the extents and encircling oceans of Śālmaladvīpa (twice Krauñcadvīpa; surrounded by a ghṛta-samudra), then Gomedadvīpa (twice Śālmaladvīpa; surrounded by a suroda-samudra), and finally Puṣkaradvīpa (surrounded by an ikṣurasa-samudra), including their mountains, varṣa-divisions, and river systems in the standard sapta-parvata/sapta-varṣa idiom (with Puṣkara’s distinctive bifurcation).

  3. Climax resolution

    The cosmographic catalogue culminates in brahmāṇḍa-pramāṇa: Rudra states measures of Earth and the cosmic egg(s), notes innumerable brahmāṇḍas, and re-centers the entire mapping in the Varāha doctrine—Nārāyaṇa’s boar-form stabilizes Pṛthivī from rasātala, making cosmic measurement a teaching about terrestrial balance and preservation.

Geographical context

Purāṇic cosmographic regions: Śālmaladvīpa, Krauñcadvīpa, Gomedadvīpa, Puṣkaradvīpa; oceans/seas: ghṛta-samudra, suroda-samudra, ikṣurasa-samudra, svādūdaka; mountains: (kula-parvatas listed) Sumahān, Pīta, Śātakaumbha, Sārvaguṇa, Sauvarṇa, Rohita, Sumanas, Kuśala, Jāmbūnada, Vaidyuta; principal mountain: Kumuda; Mānasaparvata; Kailāsa; rasātala; kaṭāha (cosmic basin imagery).

Ritual instructions

  • BenefitNo explicit ritual-vidhi is taught; the chapter’s ‘benefit’ is doctrinal—contemplation of dvīpa-vistāra and samudra-pariveṣṭana as an expression of cosmic order upheld by Varāha/Nārāyaṇa’s stabilizing power.

The narrative frame

  • Rudra (within the broader Varāha–Pṛthivī instructional frame)Pṛthivī (and implicitly the Purāṇic audience of sages/gods) · Concise, enumerative, cosmographic; didactic with a concluding theological re-centering on Varāha.

The emotional journey

  • Dominant RasaAdbhuta (wonder) with a secondary Śānta (contemplative orderliness).
  • Emotional ProgressionFrom measured description (lists of extents, mountains, varṣas, rivers) → widening scale (dvīpa doubling and successive oceans) → cosmic vastness (innumerable brahmāṇḍas) → devotional-theological anchoring in Varāha as the guarantor of stability.

Planning a pilgrimage

  • Visit FeasibilityNot directly visitable as terrestrial pilgrimage sites; these are Purāṇic cosmographic regions used for contemplative mapping and theological instruction rather than geographic travel.

Frequently Asked Questions

The chapter frames cosmographic measurement as a doctrine of order and stability: Earth (Pṛthivī) is depicted as periodically stabilized by Nārāyaṇa in boar-form, implying that terrestrial balance is maintained through a larger cosmic governance rather than human ritual action in this passage.

No tithi, lunar month, seasonal (ṛtu), or calendrical markers are specified in Adhyaya 88; the content is primarily spatial and proportional (dvīpa and ocean extents) rather than ritual-timing instruction.

It explicitly connects Earth’s stability to the Varāha motif: Nārāyaṇa, taking a boar form, enters rasātala and raises/sets the worlds into a stable condition. This functions as an early preservation narrative where cosmic structure and Earth’s habitability depend on periodic restorative intervention.

No royal genealogies or administrative lineages are named here. The principal figures are Rudra (as instructor), Varāha/Nārāyaṇa (as cosmic stabilizer), and the implied audience of sages (ṛṣayaḥ) and gods (devāḥ).

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