Shloka 4

Adhyaya 59 — Cosmic Geography and Yuga-Order: Bhadrashva, Ketumala, and the Northern Kuru Region

Sanskrit

पूर्वेण यत् स्थितं वर्षं भद्राश्वं तन्निबोध मे ।

श्वेतपर्णश्च नीलश्च शैवालश्चाचलोत्तमः ॥

Transliteration

pūrveṇa yat sthitaṃ varṣaṃ bhadrāśvaṃ tan nibodha me / śvetaparṇaś ca nīlaś ca śaivālaś cācalottamaḥ

Translation

အရှေ့ဘက်၌ တည်ရှိသော ဘဒြာရှွ (Bhadrāśva) ဟု ခေါ်သော ဝර්ෂ (varṣa) ကို ငါထံမှ သိမှတ်လော့။ ထိုနေရာ၌ သာလွန်မြတ်သော တောင်များဖြစ်သည့် Śvetaparṇa၊ Nīla နှင့် Śaivāla တို့ ရှိ၏။

Word by Word

• पूर्वेण: to the east/by the eastern side
• पूर्वेण: करण (Karaṇa)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन; adverbial/instrumental ('to the east/by the east')

• यत्: which
• यत्: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; relative pronoun

• स्थितम्: situated
• स्थितम्: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'having stood/being situated'

• वर्षम्: region/varṣa (division of the earth)
• वर्षम्: कर्म (Karma)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• भद्राश्वम्: Bhadrāśva (name of the varṣa)
• भद्राश्वम्: कर्म (Karma)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भद्राश्व (प्रातिपदिक; भद्र + अश्व)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (proper name)

• तत्: that
• तत्: कर्म (Karma)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun referring to the varṣa

• निबोध: understand/learn
• निबोध: क्रिया (Kriyā)
• Type: Verb
• Root: बुध् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; उपसर्ग: नि-

• मे: from me/to me (my)
• मे: सम्प्रदान (Sampradāna)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (Gen/Dat), एकवचन; enclitic pronoun

• श्वेतपर्णः: Śvetaparṇa (a mountain)
• श्वेतपर्णः: कर्ता (Karta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वेतपर्ण (प्रातिपदिक; श्वेत + पर्ण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (proper name)

• च: and
• च: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction)

• नीलः: Nīla (a mountain)
• नीलः: कर्ता (Karta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नील (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; proper name

• च: and
• च: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction)

• शैवालः: Śaivāla (a mountain)
• शैवालः: कर्ता (Karta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैवाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; proper name

• च: and
• च: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction)

• अचलोत्तमः: the best mountain
• अचलोत्तमः: कर्ता (Karta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अचल (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास ('best of mountains')

Speakers

• Narrator to interlocutor

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Sacred geography
• Toponymy

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Purāṇic geography is not merely cartography; it is a sacred ordering of space, where named mountains function as cosmic boundaries and dharmic landmarks.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This is ancillary cosmography supporting 'Sarga/Pratisarga' style world-description sections commonly embedded in Purāṇas.

What is the esoteric significance?

Mountain triads often encode stability and axis-symbolism: fixed ‘acalas’ represent the unshaken supports of the manifested world and of inner discipline.