Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 57, Shloka 7

Adhyaya 57 — The Ninefold Divisions of Bharata: Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples

Sanskrit

अयन्तु नवमस्तेषां द्वीपः सागरसंवृतः ।

योजनानां हसस्त्रं वै द्वीपोऽयं दक्षिणोत्तरात् ॥

Transliteration

ayaṃ tu navamas teṣāṃ dvīpaḥ sāgarasaṃvṛtaḥ | yojanānāṃ sahasraṃ vai dvīpo 'yaṃ dakṣiṇottarāt ||

Translation

Sesungguhnya inilah yang kesembilan di antara mereka: sebuah pulau (dvīpa) yang dikelilingi lautan. Luasnya seribu yojana, diukur dari selatan ke utara.

Word by Word

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तु: but; indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्य-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (but/indeed)

• नवमः: ninth
• नवमः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नवम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक (ordinal)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• द्वीपः: island
• द्वीपः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सागरसंवृतः: surrounded by the ocean
• सागरसंवृतः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सागर + संवृत (√वृ, क्त-प्रत्यय; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सागरेण/सागरैः संवृतः = surrounded by ocean); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle)

• योजनानाम्: of yojanas
• योजनानाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/परिमाण-निर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• सहस्रम्: a thousand
• सहस्रम्: Visheshana (विशेषण/परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nominative/Accusative), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (indeed/emphatic)

• द्वीपः: the island
• द्वीपः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/निर्देशक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• दक्षिणोत्तरात्: from south to north
• दक्षिणोत्तरात्: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/दिशा-निर्देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दक्षिण + उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; पञ्चमी-अर्थे अव्ययवत् (from south to north / in the south-north direction)

Speakers

• Not within Devi Māhātmya; standard Purāṇic narration (frame-speakers not explicit in these verses)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Sacred Geography
• Measurement (yojana)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Purāṇic geography ties human imagination to scale and boundary: the ocean-girt dvīpa suggests limits, order, and the idea that human life unfolds within a measured cosmos rather than chaos.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

‘Sthāna’ (description of the world’s arrangement and dimensions).

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘ocean boundary’ can signify saṃsāric limitation; the measured span hints that liberation is sought not by expanding the world outward, but by transcending its enclosing conditions.