Shloka 55
सप्तद्वीप-समुद्र-प्रमाणम्: प्लक्षादि-द्वीपवर्णनं, लोकालोक-सीमा, चन्द्र-समुद्र-वृद्धिक्षयः
गौरी कुमुद्वती चैव संध्या रात्रिर् मनोजवा ख्यातिश् च पुण्डरीका च सप्तैता वर्षनिम्नगाः
gaurī kumudvatī caiva saṃdhyā rātrir manojavā khyātiś ca puṇḍarīkā ca saptaitā varṣanimnagāḥ
ガウリー、クムドヴァティー、サンディヤー、ラートリー、マノージャヴァー、キヤーティ、プṇḍリーカー——この七つが、ヴァルシャを流れる川として名高い。
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Names of the seven principal varṣa-rivers
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas
Concept: The cosmos is sustained through specific, named channels of nourishment (rivers), suggesting that order and beneficence are embedded in creation.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Use japa or meditation with imagery of purifying rivers to steady the mind and cultivate inner cleanliness (śauca).
Vishishtadvaita: Purifying, sustaining forces in nature function as the Lord’s śakti within the world, supporting dependent beings without breaking divine transcendence.
Vishnu Form: Narayana
Bhakti Type: shanta
FAQs
The river lists map sacred geography and portray the world as a divinely ordered realm where life, dharma, and prosperity are sustained through natural channels.
By naming the varṣa-associated rivers, Parāśara anchors abstract cosmology in recognizable features—regions are understood through their sustaining waterways and their place in cosmic order.
Even when describing geography, the Purāṇa implies Vishnu’s sovereignty: the world’s structure and its sustaining rivers function within a cosmos upheld by the Supreme Reality.