Varaha Purana 82.7: Adhyaya 82, Shloka 7

The Descent of the Rivers: The Sky-Gaṅgā and Her Fourfold Division

Devanagari script

सा च मेरुकूटतटान्तेभ्यः प्रस्कलिता चतुर्धा संजाता ।

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 82.7

Transliteration

sā ca merukūṭataṭāntebhyaḥ praskhalitā caturdhā saṁjātā |

Translation

Dan, setelah meluncur turun dari tepi lereng puncak-puncak Meru, ia terbahagi menjadi empat aliran.

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Word by Word

• sā: she / that (river)
• sā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/particle (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• meru-kūṭa-taṭāntebhyaḥ: from the edges of the slopes of Meru’s peak
• meru-kūṭa-taṭāntebhyaḥ: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: meru (प्रातिपदिक) + kūṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + taṭānta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Plural (बहुवचन); तत्पुरुष-श्रृङ्खला: merukūṭasya taṭāntaḥ ‘edge of the slope of Meru-peak’

• praskhalitā: having slipped / having fallen down
• praskhalitā: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√skhal (धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); predicative with ‘sā’

• caturdhā: fourfold / into four streams
• caturdhā: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: caturdhā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण अव्यय): ‘in four ways/into four parts’

• saṁjātā: became / arose
• saṁjātā: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√jan (धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); predicative: ‘became’

Speaker

Rudra

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmology
• Ancient Hydrology
• Sacred Geography

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

Fourfold river division is a recurring Purāṇic motif that organizes world-space into directional hydrological systems, shaping later sacred-geographic imagination.

Which geographic location is identified?

Meru’s peaks (merukūṭa) are referenced within cosmological geography; no direct modern terrestrial identification is fixed.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

Not an injunction; the verse contributes to a systemic view of waters as structured, originating from a central axis, which can inform heritage-oriented respect for waterways.