Varaha Purana - Adhyaya 84
Varaha PuranaAdhyaya 847 Shlokas

Adhyaya 84: Description of the Northern Regions: Ramyaka, Hiraṇmaya, Uttarakuru, Candradvīpa, Sūryadvīpa, and Rudrākara

Uttaravarṣa-varṇana (Ramyaka–Hiraṇmaya–Uttarakuru–Candradvīpa–Sūryadvīpa–Rudrākara)

Ancient-Geography (Purāṇic Cosmography and Ethno-ecology)

ヴァラーハとプリティヴィーの教示的枠組みの中で、本章はルドラが北方・南方のヴァルシャ(varṣa)について報告し、とりわけ北方の諸地域と住民を詳述する。白山(Śveta)・青山(Nīla)およびトリシュリンガ(Triśṛṅga)との位置関係により諸国が列挙され、まずラミヤカ(Ramyaka)では、人々は心が洗練され、老いと身体の不浄を離れ、巨大なニヤグローダ樹ローヒタ(Rohita)の果実精髄によって養われ、驚くほどの長寿を得ると説かれる。次いでヒラニマヤ(Hiraṇmaya)では、ヒラニヴァティー川と、姿を変える強大なヤクシャ(Yakṣa)が語られ、その寿命も数で示される。さらに宇宙地理の概観として、ウッタラクル(Uttarakuru)では樹々から衣服や装身具が自ずと現れ、乳を出す樹、宝石の土と黄金の砂があると述べ、続いてチャンドラドヴィーパ(Candradvīpa)とスーリヤドヴィーパ(Sūryadvīpa)の名ある山河を挙げ、最後にルドラーカーラ(Rudrākara)で宝座に坐して顕現するヴァーユ(Vāyu)を示し、地理と環境の豊穣、そして定められた寿命とを結び合わせる。

Speakers

VarāhaPṛthivīRudra

Key Concepts

Purāṇic varṣa/dvīpa cosmographyMountain-based spatial orientation (Śveta, Nīla, Triśṛṅga)Ethno-ecology and longevity through vegetal resources (nyagrodha-phala-rasa)Non-agricultural abundance motifs (spontaneous textiles/ornaments, kṣīra-vṛkṣa)Yakṣa and deva-associated populations as ecological guardiansQuantified lifespans as moral-ecological indexing
Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana Adhyaya 84

Shlokas in Adhyaya 84

Verse 1

रुद्र उवाच । उत्तराणां च वर्षाणां दक्षिणानां च सर्वशः । आचक्षते यथान्यायं ये च पर्वतवासिनः । तच्छृणुध्वं मया विप्राः कीर्त्यमानं समाहिताः ॥ ८४.१ ॥

ルドラは言った。「北方の諸地方、また同様に南方の諸地方の全体について—山に住む者たちが正当な慣例に従って語るとおりに—学識ある者たちよ、わたしが今誦して述べるところを、心を統一して聴け。」

Verse 2

दक्षिणेन तु श्वेतस्य नीलस्य चोत्तरेण च । वायव्यां रम्यकं नाम जायन्ते तत्र मानवाः । मतिप्रधानाः विमला जरादौर्गन्ध्यवर्जिताः ॥ ८४.२ ॥

シュヴェータの南、ニーラの北、西北の方角に「ラミヤカ」と名づけられた国がある。そこに生まれる人々は、知性に秀で、清浄で、老いと悪臭を免れている。

Verse 3

तत्रापि सुमहान् वृक्षो न्यग्रोधो रोहितः स्मृतः । तत्फलाद् रसपानाद्धि दशवर्षसहस्रिणः । आयुषा सर्वमनुजा जायन्ते देवरूपिणः ॥ ८४.३ ॥

そこにはまた、きわめて大いなる樹が語られる。ローヒタと名づけられたニヤグローダ(バニヤン)である。まことに、その果より得た汁を飲むことにより、すべての人は一万年の寿命をもって生まれ、天神のごとき姿を具える。

Verse 4

उत्तरेण च श्वेतस्य त्रिशृङ्गस्य च दक्षिणे । वर्षं हिरण्मयं नाम तत्र हैरण्वती नदी । यक्षाः वसन्ति तत्रैव बलिनः कामरूपिणः ॥ ८४.४ ॥

シュヴェータの北、トリシュリンガの南に「ヒランマヤ」と呼ばれる国がある。そこにはハイランヴァティー河が流れ、またそこにヤクシャたちが住む。彼らは力強く、意のままに姿を変えることができる。

Verse 5

एकादशहस्त्राणि समानां तेन जीवते । शतान्यन्यानि जीवन्ते वर्षाणां दश पञ्च च ॥ ८४.५ ॥

その尺度によれば、人は一万一千のサマー(年)を生きる。ほかの者はさらに幾百年を生き、すなわち十年と五年(合わせて十五年)を加えて生きる。

Verse 6

लकुचाः क्षुद्रसा वृक्षास्तस्मिन् देशे व्यवस्थिताः । तत्फलप्राशमानाः हि तेन जीवन्ति मानवाः ॥ ८४.६ ॥

その地方には、樹液(あるいは実り)の少ないラクーチャ樹が、そこにしっかりと生い立っている。まことに人々はその果実を食して生きている。

Verse 7

このように、三つの峰をもつトリシュリンガには、摩尼・黄金・あらゆる宝より成る峰が順に連なり、その北の峰より、南海の涯においてウッタラクルがある。そこでは衣服と装身具が、まるで樹々に自ずと生ずるかのように得られ、乳を出す樹、乳のような樹液の飲み物がある。大地は宝石に満ち、砂は黄金である。そこには天界より堕ちた人々が住み、寿命は一万三千年である。同じ島の西に、四千ヨージャナを越えると、神々の世界より月洲チャンドラドヴィーパが現れ、周囲一千ヨージャナの円形である。その中央にチャンドラカーンタ山とスーリヤカーンタ山という二山があり、その間に大河チャンドラヴァティが流れる。多くの樹木と果実に富み、諸河が入り交わる—これがクルヴァルシャである。さらにその北側で、波の連なりに飾られた海を五千ヨージャナ渡ると、神々の世界より日洲スーリヤドヴィーパが現れ、周囲一千ヨージャナの円形である。その中央には幅百ヨージャナ、高さも同じほどの勝れた山があり、そこからスーリヤーヴァルタという河が流れ出る。そこに太陽が鎮まり、太陽の神を奉ずる、太陽色の民が住み、寿命は一万年である。さらにその島の西に四千ヨージャナを越えると、周囲一万ヨージャナの島ルドラーカーラがある。そこには多くの宝に輝く風神ヴァーユの吉祥の座があり、形あるヴァーユがそこに住す。民は精金(タパニーヤ)の色で、寿命は五千年である。

Inside Adhyaya 84

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī instructional dialogue, Rudra is positioned as the reporting voice who enumerates the northern (and by framing contrast, southern) varṣas/dvīpas, using major mountains (Śveta, Nīla, Triśṛṅga) as spatial anchors.

  2. Central event

    A structured cosmographic catalogue unfolds: Ramyaka (Rohita-nyagrodha and fruit-essence sustenance; purity and agelessness), Hiraṇmaya (Hiraṇvatī river; powerful, form-changing Yakṣas; specified longevity), Uttarakuru (trees yielding garments/ornaments; milk-yielding trees; gem-soil and golden sands; svargacyuta inhabitants), then Candradvīpa and Sūryadvīpa (named mountains and rivers), culminating in Rudrākara (Vāyu enthroned on a jeweled Bhadrāsana), presenting abundance as an expression of cosmic order.

  3. Climax resolution

    The descriptive peak is Rudrākara, where geography becomes theophany: Vāyu’s embodied presence on a jeweled seat signals that elemental governance (wind/air) and regulated lifespans are integral to the stability and prosperity of these regions; the survey resolves by implying a coherent, divinely-administered terrestrial ecology.

Geographical context

Śveta-parvata, Nīla-parvata, Triśṛṅga-parvata; Vāyavya (northwest quarter); Ramyaka-varṣa; nyagrodha (Rohita); Hiraṇmaya-varṣa; Hiraṇvatī-nadī; Uttarakuru; Candradvīpa; Candrakānta-giri; Sūryakānta-giri; Candrāvatī-nadī; Sūryadvīpa; Sūryāvarta-nadī; Rudrākara-dvīpa; Bhadrāsana of Vāyu; Southern Ocean terminus (dakṣiṇa-samudra-anta); maṇibhūmi (gem-bearing ground) and suvarṇa-bālukā (golden sands).

Tirtha focus

  • Pilgrimage MeritThe chapter functions more as cosmographic instruction than a tīrtha-mahātmya; merit is implied indirectly through contemplation of ordered creation and reverence for divinely sustained landscapes rather than through prescribed pilgrimage acts.

Ritual instructions

  • BenefitNo explicit ritual-vidhi is stated in the provided chapter summary; the practical takeaway is contemplative—learning the cosmic geography and its ethic of non-extractive abundance as a mode of aligning one’s understanding with dharmic order.

The narrative frame

  • Rudra (within the Varāha–Pṛthivī pedagogical frame)Pṛthivī (with Varāha as the overarching dialogic authority/context) · Didactic, catalogic, cosmographic (enumerative description with moral-ecological undertones)

The emotional journey

  • Dominant RasaAdbhuta (wonder)
  • Emotional ProgressionCuriosity about the world’s edges → amazement at purity and longevity motifs → heightened wonder at spontaneous abundance (Uttarakuru) → contemplative awe as geography culminates in elemental divinity (Vāyu enthroned).

Planning a pilgrimage

  • Visit FeasibilityPrimarily mythic/cosmographic regions (varṣa/dvīpa) rather than historically locatable terrestrial tirthas; not feasible as literal pilgrimage destinations in a modern travel sense, but suitable for scriptural study, recitation, and comparative Purāṇic cosmography mapping.

Frequently Asked Questions

Rather than issuing explicit prescriptive rules, the text models an ecological-cosmographic pedagogy: well-ordered regions are depicted as sustained by abundant, non-extractive natural resources (fruit-essence, milk-yielding trees, spontaneous materials), and longevity is narrated as correlated with purity, restraint, and harmonious dwelling within a landscape.

No tithi, lunar phase, vrata timing, or seasonal ritual calendar is specified in the provided passage. Time is expressed primarily through quantified lifespans (e.g., ten thousand years, thirteen thousand years, five thousand years), functioning as cosmographic indexing rather than ritual scheduling.

Environmental balance is implied through landscapes that provide sustenance without intensive cultivation: humans live on nyagrodha fruit-essence, trees generate garments and ornaments, and terrains are described as inherently rich (maṇibhūmi, suvarṇa-bālukā). Such motifs align with a preservation-oriented imagination of Pṛthivī where abundance arises from stable cosmic order and non-destructive use of terrestrial gifts.

The passage references cosmic and semi-divine figures and groups rather than human dynastic lineages: Rudra as narrator; Yakṣas as inhabitants of Hiraṇmaya; Vāyu as an embodied presence in Rudrākara; and populations described as svargacyuta (fallen-from-heaven) in Uttarakuru. No royal genealogies or named human sages are specified in the excerpt.

Ask anything about Adhyaya 84 of the Varaha Purana

Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.

Not sure where to start?

A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.

Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app

Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.

Continue reading in the Vedapath app

Open in App