Shloka 35
Bhāratavarṣa–Navabheda-Vyavasthā
The Nine Divisions of Bhāratavarṣa and Its Sacred Geography
द्विगुणेन समुद्रेण सततं संवृतः स्थितः । वर्षाभिव्यंजका नद्यस्तासां नामानि मे शृणु
dviguṇena samudreṇa satataṃ saṃvṛtaḥ sthitaḥ | varṣābhivyaṃjakā nadyastāsāṃ nāmāni me śṛṇu
तो सदा स्वतःच्या दुप्पट समुद्राने सर्व बाजूंनी वेढलेला आहे. आता वर्षा प्रकट करणाऱ्या त्या नद्यांची नावे माझ्याकडून ऐक.
Sūta Gosvāmin (narrating the Purāṇic cosmography to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pasha
FAQs
It portrays the cosmos as an ordered, measured reality—an expression of Śiva’s lordship (Pati) over the bound world (paśu) governed by limiting structures (pāśa). Even natural forces like oceans and rains are presented as part of a divinely sustained order.
By describing the structured universe, the text points to Saguna Śiva as the sovereign who upholds cosmic functions. Linga worship reveres Śiva as both the transcendent ground and the immanent regulator of creation, within which rivers and rains serve dharma and life.
A practical takeaway is reverent remembrance (smaraṇa) of Śiva while honoring sacred waters—such as offering water to the Śiva-liṅga with the Panchākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya,” recognizing rain and rivers as Śiva’s sustaining grace.