Vamana Purana — Structure of Jambudvipa, Shloka 33

The Structure of Jambudvipa: Nine Varshas, Navadvipa Bharata, Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples

Devanagari script

सर्वाः पुण्याः सरस्वत्यः पापप्रशमनास्तथा जगतो मातरः सर्वाः सर्वाः सागरयोषितः

Transliteration

sarvāḥ puṇyāḥ sarasvatyaḥ pāpapraśamanāstathā jagato mātaraḥ sarvāḥ sarvāḥ sāgarayoṣitaḥ

Translation

Semua (sungai ini) adalah suci—bagaikan Sarasvatī; dan juga penghapus dosa. Semuanya adalah ibu bagi jagat; semuanya seolah-olah permaisuri lautan.

Word by Word

• सर्वाः: all
• सर्वाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• पुण्याः: holy/meritorious
• पुण्याः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• सरस्वत्यः: Sarasvatīs (rivers)
• सरस्वत्यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘सरस्वती’-शब्दः नदी-पर्यायः

• पापप्रशमनाः: removers of sin
• पापप्रशमनाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप-प्रशमन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण: ‘sin-removing’

• तथा: and likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/उपपद)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: thus/also)

• जगतः: of the world
• जगतः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• मातरः: mothers
• मातरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• सर्वाः: all
• सर्वाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• सर्वाः: all (entirely)
• सर्वाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (पुनरुक्ति-बल)

• सागरयोषितः: women of the ocean (ocean-maidens)
• सागरयोषितः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर-योषित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘समुद्र-स्त्रियः’ इति रूपक-प्रयोगः

Speakers

• Pulastya to Nārada (praise-statement concluding/transitioning the river catalogue)

Primary Deities

• Sarasvatī (as paradigmatic sacred river/goddess)

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Purification (Pāpa-śamana)
• River-goddess Theology
• Non-sectarian Sacredness of Nature

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Rivers are treated as moral agents in the sacred order: approaching them with reverence, restraint, and purity aligns one’s conduct with dharma; their ‘sin-removing’ power presupposes sincere ethical intention, not mere physical contact.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is tīrtha-mahātmya-oriented deśa-varṇana (geographical-sacral description). It is not vamśānucarita; it supports the Purāṇic function of guiding religious life through sacred topography.

What is the symbolic significance?

Calling rivers ‘mothers of the world’ frames them as nurturers (life, fertility, sustenance). Calling them ‘consorts of the ocean’ poetically encodes the hydrological truth of rivers’ culmination in the sea, while also sacralizing cosmic interdependence.