Vamana Purana — Structure of Jambudvipa, Shloka 23
The Structure of Jambudvipa: Nine Varshas, Navadvipa Bharata, Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples
वेदस्मृतिर्वेदसिनी वृत्रघ्नी सिन्धुरेव च पर्णाशा नन्दिनी चैव पावनी च मही तथा
vedasmṛtirvedasinī vṛtraghnī sindhureva ca parṇāśā nandinī caiva pāvanī ca mahī tathā
വേദസ്മൃതി, വേദസിനീ, വൃത്രഘ്നീ, സിന്ധു; അതുപോലെ പർണാശാ, നന്ദിനീ, പാവനീ, മഹീ—ഇവ ഈ പരാമർശത്തിൽ ഉൾപ്പെടുന്ന നദികളാണ്.
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The river-names preserve cultural memory: dharma is maintained not only through doctrine but through living toponyms that recall Vedic myths and ideals (purification, victory over chaos).
Like other tīrtha catalogs, it functions as a dharma-supporting appendix to Purāṇic narration; it is not primarily genealogical or cosmogonic.
Names like Vṛtraghnī symbolize the triumph of order over obstruction (vṛtra = ‘the blocker’). Rivers become mythic signs: they ‘carry’ the victory of ṛta/dharma into the human world.