Varaha Purana 80.5: Adhyaya 80, Shloka 5

Cosmographic Ordering of the Southern and Western Quarters: Valleys, Forest-Plateaus, and Sacred Sites

Pūrva Bhāga · Pṛthivī-uddhāra and Sacred/Physical Geography (Topographical Description)

Devanagari script

सुमूलस्याचलेन्द्रस्य वसुधारस्य चान्तरे । त्रिंशद्योजनविस्तीर्णे पञ्चाशद्योजनायते ॥५॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 80.5

Transliteration

sumūlasyācalendrasya vasudhārasya cāntare | triṃśad-yojana-vistīrṇe pañcāśad-yojanāyate ||5||

ITRANS transliteration

Translation

സുമൂല എന്ന പർവ്വതാധിപനും വസുധാരയും തമ്മിൽ അതിന്റെ വീതി മുപ്പത് യോജനയും നീളം അമ്പത് യോജനയും ആകുന്നു.

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Word by Word

• सुमूलस्य: of Sumūla
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; (अचलेन्द्रस्य) विशेषण/नाम
• Role: Shashthi-Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Root: सुमूल (प्रातिपदिक)

• अचल-इन्द्रस्य: of the mountain-lord
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘of the lord of mountains’
• Role: Shashthi-Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Root: अचल (प्रातिपदिक) + इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)

• वसुधारस्य: of Vasudhāra
• Type: Noun
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन
• Role: Shashthi-Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Root: वसुधार (प्रातिपदिक)

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक
• Role: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Root: च (अव्यय)

• अन्तरे: in between
• Type: Noun
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)

• त्रिंशत्-योजन-विस्तीर्णे: (in a place) thirty yojanas wide
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग? सप्तमी, एकवचन; स्थानवाचक विशेषण (elliptic: ‘(देशे/सरे) त्रिंशद्योजनविस्तीर्णे’)
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: त्रिंशत् (संख्या) + योजन (प्रातिपदिक) + विस्तीर्ण (कृदन्त, वि+स्तॄ)

• पञ्चाशत्-योजन-आयते: (in a place) fifty yojanas long
• Type: Adjective
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग? सप्तमी, एकवचन; स्थानवाचक विशेषण (elliptic) ‘fifty yojanas long’
• Role: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Root: पञ्चाशत् (संख्या) + योजन (प्रातिपदिक) + आयत (प्रातिपदिक)

Sandhi Notes

• सुमूलस्याचलेन्द्रस्य = सुमूलस्य अचल-इन्द्रस्य
• चान्तरे = च अन्तरे
• त्रिंशद्योजनविस्तीर्णे = त्रिंशत्-योजन-विस्तीर्णे
• पञ्चाशद्योजनायते = पञ्चाशत्-योजन-आयते

Speaker and setting

Shanta and Adbhuta rasa

Speaker

Varāha

The teaching

Path

Cosmography/epistemic Dharma

Subjects

GeographyCosmologySacred LandscapeMeasurement Systems

Core idea

Dharma includes right knowing (pramāṇa-like clarity) of the world’s structure; Purāṇic measures encode orientation and reverent attention to place.

In practice

Read sacred geography with disciplined attention—retain measures, directions, and boundaries as part of contemplative mapping (smaraṇa) of the cosmos.

Cross references

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Studies
• Ancient Geography
• Sanskrit Philology

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a Purāṇic mode of describing space using yojana-based dimensions, useful for comparing textual geography with broader Indic cosmographic and topographic traditions.

Which geographic location is identified?

No specific named site is given in this isolated verse; it describes an extent ‘between’ a chief mountain and the supporting earth/ground, suggesting a topographical interval rather than a clearly identifiable modern location.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive; its philosophical emphasis lies in portraying the ordered structure of the world through measured, intelligible dimensions.