Shloka 32

Adhyaya 54 — Cosmography of Jambudvipa: Continents, Oceans, Varshas, and Mount Meru

Sanskrit

तेषु नक्षत्रविन्यासाद्विषयाः समवस्थिताः ।

चतुष्वपि द्विजश्रेष्ठ ग्रहाभिभवपाठकाः ॥

Transliteration

teṣu nakṣatra-vinyāsād viṣayāḥ samavasthitāḥ | catuṣv api dvijaśreṣṭha grahābhibhava-pāṭhakāḥ ||

Translation

ໃນດິນແດນເຫຼົ່ານັ້ນ ໂດຍການຈັດວາງຕາມນັກສັດຕະຣາ (nakṣatra) ຂອງດວງຈັນ ອານາເຂດຖືກກຳນົດເປັນລຳດັບ; ໃນທັງສີ່ນັ້ນ ໂອ ຜູ້ດີເລີດໃນຜູ້ເກີດສອງຄັ້ງ ມີຜູ້ສວດ/ຜູ້ຮູ້ ຜູ້ອະທິບາຍອິດທິພົນແຮງກ້າຂອງດາວເຄາະ।

Word by Word

• तेषु: in/among those
• तेषु: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन; Pronoun, Loc. pl.

• नक्षत्रविन्यासात्: from the arrangement of constellations
• नक्षत्रविन्यासात्: अपादान (Apādāna/Source-Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नक्षत्र + विन्यास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; Abl. sg.; समास: नक्षत्राणां विन्यासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• विषयाः: regions/domains
• विषयाः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विषय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; Nom. pl.

• समवस्थिताः: are situated/established
• समवस्थिताः: कर्तृसमानाधिकरण (Predicate/State)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + अव + √स्था (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (भूतकृत्/क्त-प्रत्यय), प्रथमा बहुवचन, पुंलिङ्ग; Past passive participle used adjectivally; ‘having been set/established’

• चतुषु: in the four
• चतुषु: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन; Loc. pl.

• अपि: also/indeed
• अपि: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; emphatic/also

• द्विजश्रेष्ठ: O best of the twice-born
• द्विजश्रेष्ठ: सम्बोधन (Sambodhana/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; Voc. sg.; समास: द्विजः श्रेष्ठः (कर्मधारय)

• ग्रहाभिभवपाठकाः: reciters/teachers of (texts on) the overpowering of planets
• ग्रहाभिभवपाठकाः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रह + अभिभव + पाठक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; Nom. pl.; समास: ग्रहाणाम् अभिभवस्य पाठकाः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; multi-member)

Speakers

• Cosmography narration within Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa (speaker not explicit in excerpt)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Jyotiṣa (astral lore)
• Order of the heavens

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse normalizes interpretive traditions (pāṭhakāḥ) that read cosmic patterns. Ethically, it suggests responsibility in knowledge: astral lore is framed as a disciplined ‘reading,’ not superstition.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Sthāna: celestial ordering tied to terrestrial regions; an extension of cosmographic description.

What is the esoteric significance?

Nakṣatra and graha ‘placements’ can symbolize patterned tendencies within the psyche; the ‘readers’ represent discriminative awareness that interprets and moderates overpowering impulses.