Adhyaya 88: Account of the Extents of Śālmaladvīpa, Gomedadvīpa, and Puṣkaradvīpa
Śālmaladvīpa-Gomedadvīpa-Puṣkaradvīpa-vistara-kathana
Ancient-Geography (Purāṇic Cosmography)
Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī instructional frame, the chapter preserves Rudra’s concise cosmographic teaching on the arrangement and proportional expansion of the dvīpas. Rudra states he will describe the remaining continents and begins with Śālmaladvīpa, presented as twice the extent of Krauñcadvīpa and encircled by a ghee-ocean (ghṛta-samudra). The narration lists seven principal mountains, seven varṣas, and corresponding river systems, including named kula-parvatas. The account then moves to the sixth dvīpa, Gomedadvīpa, described as twice Śālmaladvīpa and surrounded by a liquor-ocean (suroda), with two chief mountains (including Kumuda). Next, Puṣkaradvīpa is introduced, encircled by a sugarcane-juice ocean (ikṣurasa), featuring the Mānasaparvata and a bifurcated varṣa. Rudra concludes with a measure of Earth and the brahmāṇḍa, notes innumerable cosmic eggs, and recalls Nārāyaṇa’s boar-form act of stabilizing Earth—framing cosmography as a doctrine of terrestrial balance—before departing for Kailāsa.
Key Concepts
In this adhyaya
People
What happens
- How 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.
- Stories within
Varāha/Nārāyaṇa’s boar-form descent to rasātala and stabilization of Earth (earth-preservation motif).
- The turning point
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).
- How it ends
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.
Tirthas
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).
Shlokas in Adhyaya 88
Verse 1
रुद्र उवाच । त्रिषु शिष्टेषु वक्ष्यामि द्वीपेषु मनुजान्युत । शाल्मलं पञ्चमं वर्षं प्रवक्ष्ये तन्निबोधत । क्रौञ्चद्वीपस्य विस्ताराच्छाल्मलो द्विगुणो मतः ॥ ८८.१ ॥
रुद्र बोले, मैं अब बताऊँगा कि बाकी तीन द्वीप क्या हैं। पाँचवा वर्ष शाल्मल है, इसको ध्यान से सुनो। शाल्मल इतना बड़ा है कि क्रौंच द्वीप से दुगना है।
Verse 2
श्रीवराह उवाच । एवमुक्त्वा गतो रुद्रः क्षणाददृश्यमूर्तिमान् । ते च सर्वे गता देवा ऋषयश्च यथागतम् ॥ ८८.३ ॥
श्री वराह ने कहा, इतना बोल के रुद्र चला गया। एक पल में वो गायब हो गया। सारे देवी-देवता भी चले गए। रिशि भी वापस अपने-अपने जगह चले गए।
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
घी के समुंदर के अंदर यह द्वीप है, दुगना बड़ा। वहां सात मैन पहाड़ हैं, उतने ही देश और उतनी ही नदियां। पहाड़ हैं सुमहान, पीत, शतकुंभ, सार्वगुण, सौवर्ण, रोहित, सुमनस, कुशल, जांबूनद, वैद्युत। यह सब पहाड़ हैं और देश भी हैं। अब छठा द्वीप गोमेद आता है। जैसे शाल्मली सुरोद समुंदर से घिरा है, वैसे ही सुरोद गोमेद से घिरा है जो दुगना बड़ा है। वहां सिर्फ दो मैन पहाड़ हैं, ताव्तावस और कुमुद। समुंदर गन्ने का रस है, उसके चारों तरफ पुष्कर है जो दुगना बड़ा है। पुष्कर द्वीप में मानस पहाड़ है। वो दो हिस्सों में बनता है। उसके चारों तरफ मीठा पानी का समुंदर है। फिर एक बड़ा कड़ाही आता है। यह धरती का नाप है और ब्रह्मांड का भी। ऐसे ब्रह्मांड गिनने में नहीं आते। हर कल्प में भगवान नारायण सुअर बन के रसातल में जाते हैं। एक दांत से उठा के सबको स्थिर करते हैं। यह धरती का पूरा हिस्सा मैंने तुम्हे बताया। अब मैं कैलाश चलता हूं, मेरा घर वही है।
Inside Adhyaya 88
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
- Dialogue ToneConcise, 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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