Vishnu Purana 2.4.20 — Sacred Geography, Amsha 2, Adhyaya 4, Shloka 20

सप्तद्वीप-समुद्र-प्रमाणम्: प्लक्षादि-द्वीपवर्णनं, लोकालोक-सीमा, चन्द्र-समुद्र-वृद्धिक्षयः

Devanagari script

प्लक्षद्वीपप्रमाणेन प्लक्षद्वीपः समावृतः तथैवेक्षुरसोदेन परिवेषानुकारिणा

Transliteration

plakṣadvīpapramāṇena plakṣadvīpaḥ samāvṛtaḥ tathaivekṣurasodena pariveṣānukāriṇā

Translation

プラクシャ・ド्वीーパは自らと等しい尺度の環によって囲まれ、また同様に、甘蔗汁の海が光輪のごとき輪となって周囲をめぐる。

Word by Word

• प्लक्षद्वीपप्रमाणेन: by the measure of Plakṣa-dvīpa
• प्लक्षद्वीपप्रमाणेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्लक्षद्वीप + प्रमाण (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (plakṣadvīpasya pramāṇena)

• प्लक्षद्वीपः: Plakṣa-dvīpa
• प्लक्षद्वीपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्लक्ष + द्वीप (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• समावृतः: is surrounded/encircled
• समावृतः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आवृत (कृदन्त; √वृ/वृत् धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-भावः

• तथा: thus
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: thus/so)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphasis)

• इक्षुरसोदेन: with sugarcane-juice water
• इक्षुरसोदेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इक्षुरस + उद (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ikṣurasasya udaḥ = रस-जलम्)

• परिवेषानुकारिणा: resembling a surrounding ring (halo)
• परिवेषानुकारिणा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परिवेष + अनुकारिन् (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (pariveṣasya anukārī)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: The measure and encircling ocean of Plakṣadvīpa (sugarcane-juice sea) and its ring-like arrangement

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: precise and descriptive

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Dvipas

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Plakṣa-dvīpa
• Īkṣu-rasa (sugarcane-juice ocean)

FAQs

What is the significance of the sugarcane-juice ocean (īkṣu-rasa samudra) in the Vishnu Purana?

It marks the ordered, tiered structure of Purāṇic geography, where each dvīpa is encircled by a distinct ocean, expressing a cosmos governed by precise measure and divine law.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the arrangement of dvīpas and oceans?

He describes each continent as being ringed by an ocean of equal breadth, forming successive concentric ‘halos’ (pariveṣa) that map the world as a measured, intelligible cosmic system.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even in geographic description, the Purāṇa implies Vishnu’s sovereignty: the universe is not random but proportioned and sustained by a supreme ordering reality.