Varaha Purana 77.7: Adhyaya 77, Shloka 7
Measurements of Mount Meru, the Boundary Mountains, and the Four Directional Great Trees
Pūrva Bhāga · Sacred Geography and Cosmographic Description
दशयोजनसाहस्रं व्यायामस्तेषु शङ्क्यते । तिर्यगूर्ध्वं च रचिता हरितालतटैर्वृताः ॥ ७७.७ ॥
daśayojanasāhastraṃ vyāyāmas teṣu śaṅkyate | tiryagūrdhvaṃ ca racitā haritālataṭair vṛtāḥ || 77.7 ||
dashayojanasAhastraM vyAyAmasteShu sha~Nkyate | tiryagUrdhvaM cha rachitA haritAlataTairvRRitAH || 77.7 ||
Dalam kalangan itu, ukurannya dihitung sebanyak sepuluh ribu yojana. Ia dibentuk secara mendatar dan menegak, serta dilingkungi oleh tebing-tebing haritāla (bahan kuning seumpama orpiment).
Sandhi Notes
- दशयोजनसाहस्रं = दश + योजन + साहस्रम् (dvigu)
- व्यायामस्तेषु = व्यायामः + तेषु
- तिर्यगूर्ध्वं = तिर्यक् + ऊर्ध्वम्
- हरितालतटैर्वृताः = हरिताल-तटैः + वृताः
Varāha
Stability arises from right proportion and well-defined margins—both in cosmos and conduct.
Maintain clear boundaries and right measures in practice (time, speech, consumption, ritual), avoiding excess/deficiency.
Exact measure (10,000 yojanas) and dual construction (horizontal/vertical) emphasize a cosmos built with deliberate proportions; haritāla-banks suggest a luminous mineral boundary—nature itself becomes a sacred material architecture.
Haritāla-like margins function like ritual boundary substances and colored demarcations; the measured supports echo yajña’s insistence on pramāṇa (correct dimensions) for efficacy and stability.
The world’s apparent solidity and color are structured appearances within māyā, yet governed by intelligible order; measurement points to a rational cosmos under Īśvara.
Varāha Purāṇa 77.77.6 (supports introduced)
FAQs
It preserves a Purāṇic cosmographic style of describing space through large-scale measurements (yojanas) and boundary materials, reflecting premodern South Asian literary geography rather than modern cartography.
No single terrestrial site is named in this verse; it describes a generalized cosmographic feature characterized by size and enclosing margins.
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive; its philosophical value lies in presenting an ordered, bounded cosmos, a common Purāṇic framework used to contextualize human conduct within a structured world.
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