Varaha Purana 75.31 — Adhyaya 75, Shloka 31
Description of Jambūdvīpa: its regions, mountains, measurements, and cosmic structure
हेमकूटात् तु निषधं हरिवर्षं तदुच्यते । हरिवर्षात् परं चैव मेरुपार्श्व इलावृतम् ॥ ७५.३१ ॥
hemakūṭāt tu niṣadhaṃ harivarṣaṃ tad ucyate | harivarṣāt paraṃ caiva merupārśva ilāvṛtam || 75.31 ||
ഹേമകൂടത്തിൽ നിന്ന് നിഷധ പ്രദേശം ഹരിവർഷമെന്ന് പറയപ്പെടുന്നു. ഹരിവർഷത്തിന് അപ്പുറം, മേരു പർവതത്തിന്റെ പാർശ്വത്തിൽ ഇലാവൃതം സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നു.
Varāha
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"curious, attentive (receiving cosmographic instruction)","key_question":"How are the varṣas and mountain-bounded regions arranged around Meru (from Hemakūṭa through Harivarṣa to Ilāvṛta)?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"None","karmic_consequence":"None"}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false,"symbolic_interpretation":"None","yajna_varaha_imagery":"None","vedantic_connection":"None"}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"cosmological order (ṛta)","core_concept":"The world is intelligible as a structured, nameable sacred geography centered on Meru.","practical_application":"Cultivate dharmic orientation by contemplating cosmic order; use cosmography as a meditative map for humility and devotion."}
Subject Matter: ["Cosmology","Geography","Heritage Sites"]
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: purāṇic varṣa and mountain-flank region
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 75.75.32-35 (continuation of varṣa layout)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Varāha as the cosmic teacher enumerates the varṣas and their relation to Hemakūṭa, Niṣadha/Harivarṣa, and Ilāvṛta on Meru’s flank, as if pointing to a celestial map.","item_prompts":["Varāha in regal divine form (teacher posture)","Bhu Devī listening (seated, attentive)","stylized cosmic map: Hemakūṭa, Niṣadha, Harivarṣa, Meru, Ilāvṛta labels","Meru as golden central mountain","scroll or palm-leaf manuscript motif"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural palette; Varāha as guru with ornate crown and jewelry, Bhu Devī in traditional attire; behind them a flat, iconographic Meru with labeled bands for Harivarṣa and Ilāvṛta.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore composition with gold-leaf Meru dominating center; Varāha and Bhu Devī in frontal poses; embossed labels for Harivarṣa/Ilāvṛta; rich reds and greens.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore-style delicate linework; subdued jewel tones; Varāha gesturing toward a diagrammatic Meru and surrounding varṣas; refined facial expressions of instruction and curiosity.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature: mountainous Meru rendered as layered peaks; Varāha and Bhu Devī seated on a terrace; thin inscriptions naming regions; cool blues/greens with gold highlights."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"didactic, contemplative","suggested_raga":"Bhairav","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"clear, steady, explanatory"}
FAQs
It preserves a standard Purāṇic cosmographic schema—mapping named regions (varṣas) in relation to Meru—useful for understanding how early Sanskrit literature organized sacred geography and world-description.
Ilāvṛta, described as situated by the flank of Mount Meru, is a central region in Purāṇic cosmology rather than a securely identifiable modern terrestrial location; it functions as a conceptual ‘center’ within the Jambūdvīpa model.
No direct ethical injunction is stated; the verse primarily conveys classificatory knowledge (naming and locating regions), which in Purāṇic contexts supports cultural memory of sacred landscapes and ordered cosmology.
Ask anything about this verse
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