Varaha Purana 79.9 — Adhyaya 79, Shloka 9
Description of the Inner Basins (Droṇīs): Śrīsaras, Śrīvana, Bilva Forest, and Tāla Grove
शतयोजनविस्तीर्णं द्वियोजनशतायतम् । अर्द्धक्रोशोच्छशिखरैर्महावृक्षैः समन्ततः । शाखासहस्रकलितैर्महास्कन्धैः समाकुलम् ॥ ७९.९ ॥
śatayojanavistīrṇaṃ dviyojanaśatāyatam | arddhakrośocchaśikharair mahāvṛkṣaiḥ samantataḥ | śākhāsahasrakalitair mahāskandhaiḥ samākulam || 79.9 ||
Rimba itu terbentang seluas seratus yojana dan memanjang dua ratus yojana; di sekelilingnya dilingkungi pohon-pohon besar yang puncaknya menjulang setinggi setengah krośa, dan dipenuhi batang-batang raksasa dengan ribuan dahan.
Varāha
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":true,"specific_site":"A colossal forest tract (contextually the Bilvavana/Śrīvana region) measured in yojanas","parikrama_context":"Supports the idea of an extensive sacred landscape traversed in stages; the scale rhetorically magnifies the merit of moving through the maṇḍala.","krishna_connection":"Indirect: the ‘mahāvana’ scale resonates with later Vraja’s twelve-forest imagination, though no explicit Kṛṣṇa-līlā is invoked."}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":true,"symbolic_interpretation":"The hyperbolic measurements and world-filling trees mirror Purāṇic ‘cosmic geography’ where sacred space is a microcosm of the ordered universe.","yajna_varaha_imagery":"Forest as a living yajña-maṇḍala: towering crowns like ritual canopies; innumerable branches like manifold śākhās (Vedic recensions) sustaining dharma.","vedantic_connection":"Brahman-as-plenitude suggested through inexhaustible, branching abundance; the many (branches) resting in one (vast grove) hints at unity-in-diversity."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"cosmic_imagination_in_pilgrimage","core_concept":"Pilgrimage space is not merely local; it is envisioned as cosmically vast to expand the pilgrim’s mind beyond narrow measure.","practical_application":"Cultivate ‘mahattva-dṛṣṭi’—see sacred places and nature with reverence that exceeds utilitarian measurement; restrain exploitation of old-growth forests."}
Subject Matter: ["Geography","Cosmology","Heritage Sites","Ecology"]
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: mahāvana / sacred forest expanse
Related Themes: Continuation of the grove description across 79.79.8–12 culminating in Śrīvana naming
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A panoramic sweep of an immense forest: gigantic trees with towering crowns, thick trunks, and countless branches filling the horizon.","item_prompts":["wide panoramic composition","colossal trunks","dense canopy rising high","branch networks like lattices","sense of immeasurable distance"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: stylized gigantic trees with patterned canopies, rhythmic repetition to suggest vastness, deep greens with ochre highlights, minimal sky band.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: layered forest panels with gold outlining on trunks and crowns, ornamental density to convey ‘samākula’ fullness, small scale figures for contrast.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined shading on massive trunks, intricate branch filigree, soft atmospheric perspective to show yojana-scale depth.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: multiple receding planes of trees, crisp outlines, cool greens, distant haze, tiny pilgrims/ascetics to emphasize magnitude."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"majestic-descriptive","suggested_raga":"Bhairav (or Śrī)","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"measured, expansive, emphasizing numbers and scale"}
FAQs
It preserves a Purāṇic style of describing large-scale landscapes using traditional units (yojana, krośa), offering evidence for how premodern Sanskrit texts conceptualized geography and environmental magnitude.
This verse, by itself, does not name a specific place; it describes an extensive forested region. A precise identification requires the surrounding verses of Adhyāya 79 that may supply a toponym or pilgrimage context.
Rather than issuing a direct injunction, the verse foregrounds the scale and density of a forest ecosystem, which can be cataloged as ecological imagery supporting a broader Purāṇic valuation of landscapes as culturally significant and worthy of preservation.
Ask anything about this verse
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