Varaha Purana 77.3: Adhyaya 77, Shloka 3

Measurements of Mount Meru, the Boundary Mountains, and the Four Directional Great Trees

Devanagari script

तेषां गिरिसहस्राणामनेकानां महोच्छ्रयः । दिगष्टौ च पुनस्तस्य मर्यादापर्वताः शुभाः ॥ ७७.३ ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 77.3

Transliteration

teṣāṃ girisahasrāṇām anekānāṃ mahocchrayaḥ | dig-aṣṭau ca punas tasya maryādā-parvatāḥ śubhāḥ || 77.3 ||

Translation

それら数多の千の山々のうち、その高みはきわめて偉大である。さらに八方には、境界を定める吉祥なる「境界の山々」があり、その限界を示す。

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Word by Word

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुं/नपुंसक; षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• गिरिसहस्राणाम्: of the thousands of mountains
• गिरिसहस्राणाम्: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरिसहस्र (प्रातिपदिक: गिरि + सहस्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): गिरीणां सहस्राणि

• अनेकानाम्: of many
• अनेकानाम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनेक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण; पुं/नपुंसक; षष्ठी, बहुवचन (agreeing with गिरिसहस्राणाम्)

• महोच्छ्रयः: a great height/elevation
• महोच्छ्रयः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महोच्छ्रय (प्रातिपदिक: महत् + उच्छ्रय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास: महान् उच्छ्रयः

• दिक्: direction
• दिक्: Viśeṣya (विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन (in compound with अष्टौ)

• अष्टौ: eight
• अष्टौ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या-विशेषण; पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात

• पुनः: again/further
• पुनः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; काल/पुनरावृत्तिवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: 'again/further')

• तस्य: of it/of him
• तस्य: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुं/नपुंसक; षष्ठी, एकवचन

• मर्यादापर्वताः: boundary mountains
• मर्यादापर्वताः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्यादापर्वत (प्रातिपदिक: मर्यादा + पर्वत)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध): मर्यादायाः पर्वताः

• शुभाः: auspicious
• शुभाः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन (agreeing with पर्वताः)

Speaker

Varāha

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmography
• Ancient Geography
• Vaishnavism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a Purāṇic mode of describing space through cosmographic features—especially mountains functioning as natural boundaries—useful for studying premodern South Asian geographic imagination and regional delimitation.

Which geographic location is identified?

No single named location is specified in this verse; it refers generally to a region/world-system whose limits are marked by boundary-mountains in the eight directions. Identification requires adjacent verses naming specific ranges or regions.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse does not state an explicit ethical injunction; its philosophical instruction is descriptive—presenting the world as ordered and bounded—supporting a cultural framework in which landscapes (mountains and directions) are treated as significant and worthy of careful delineation.