Shloka 4
Bhāratavarṣa–Navabheda-Vyavasthā
The Nine Divisions of Bhāratavarṣa and Its Sacred Geography
इंद्रद्युम्नः कसेरुश्च ताम्रवर्णो गभस्तिमान् । नागद्वीपस्तथा सौम्यो गन्धर्वस्त्वथ वारुणः
iṃdradyumnaḥ kaseruśca tāmravarṇo gabhastimān | nāgadvīpastathā saumyo gandharvastvatha vāruṇaḥ
इंद्रद्युम्न, कसेरु, ताम्रवर्ण आणि गभस्तिमान; तसेच नागद्वीप व सौम्य; पुढे गंधर्व आणि वारुण—ही नावे क्रमाने सांगितली आहेत.
Suta Goswami
Sthala Purana: A straightforward cosmographic enumeration of Bhārata-varṣa’s divisions by name; no direct jyotirliṅga linkage is stated here.
Significance: Indirect: mapping sacred geography prepares for later tīrtha/kshetra orientation in purāṇic practice, but this verse itself is nominative listing.
FAQs
This verse functions as a sacred enumeration of names within the narrative flow; in Shaiva practice, attentive listening and remembrance (śravaṇa–smaraṇa) of such Purāṇic lists is treated as a purifying act that steadies the mind toward Pati (Śiva) through disciplined attention.
Although the verse itself lists names rather than describing the Liṅga, it supports Saguna-oriented devotion by grounding the listener in the Purāṇic world where Śiva’s grace operates through histories, lineages, and sacred remembrance—often recited alongside Liṅga worship and Purāṇa pāṭha.
A practical takeaway is nāma-japa/recitation: read or chant the passage with focus, optionally before a Śiva-liṅga while repeating the Pañcākṣarī ("Om Namaḥ Śivāya"), as a form of attentive Purāṇa-śravaṇa.