Varaha Purana 75.33: Adhyaya 75, Shloka 33

Description of Jambūdvīpa: its regions, mountains, measurements, and cosmic structure

Devanagari script

धनुःसंस्थे तु द्वे वर्षे विज्ञेये दक्षिणोत्तरे । द्वीपानि खलु चत्वारि चतुरस्त्रमिलावृतम् ॥ ७५.३३ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 75.33

Transliteration

dhanuḥsaṃsthe tu dve varṣe vijñeye dakṣiṇottare | dvīpāni khalu catvāri caturastramilāvṛtam || 75.33 ||

Translation

W regionie ukształtowanym na kształt łuku, dwa warṣy należy rozumieć jako południowe i północne. Zaprawdę istnieją cztery dwīpy, a Ilāvṛta ma kształt czworoboczny.

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Word by Word

• dhanuḥsaṃsthe: in the two bow-shaped (regions)
• dhanuḥsaṃsthe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhanuḥ + saṃstha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Dual (द्विवचन); समास: dhanuḥ-saṃstha ‘bow-shaped/placed like a bow’; qualifying varṣe

• tu: indeed/then
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle

• dve: two
• dve: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter/Feminine, Nominative/Accusative, Dual; numeral ‘two’ qualifying varṣe

• varṣe: in the two regions
• varṣe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th), Dual; ‘in the two varṣas/regions’

• vijñeye: are to be known
• vijñeye: Kriyā (क्रिया-समर्थक)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-jñā (धातु)
• Form: Gerundive (तव्यत्/अनीयर्), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Dual; ‘to be known/should be understood’

• dakṣiṇottare: southern and northern
• dakṣiṇottare: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇa + uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Dual; द्वन्द्व: ‘southern and northern’ (as two)

• dvīpāni: islands/continents
• dvīpāni: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st), Plural (बहुवचन)

• khalu: indeed
• khalu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: khalu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात) expressing emphasis/assurance

• catvāri: four
• catvāri: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural; numeral ‘four’ qualifying dvīpāni

• caturastram: four-sided
• caturastram: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur + astra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; tatpuruṣa ‘four-cornered/quadrangular’ qualifying ilāvṛtam

• ilāvṛtam: Ilāvṛta
• ilāvṛtam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ilāvṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st), Singular; subject of implied ‘(is)’

Speaker

Varāha

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaishnavism
• Ancient Geography
• Sacred Geography

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It reflects a Purāṇic cartographic imagination in which the world is organized into dvīpas and varṣas, preserving an early South Asian cosmological-geographical framework used for later literary and ritual topographies.

Which geographic location is identified?

Ilāvṛta is named as a central region in Purāṇic geography; it is not a securely mappable modern location, but is treated in scholarship as a mytho-cosmological ‘central land’ within the dvīpa-varṣa schema.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive; its philosophical instruction lies in presenting an ordered cosmological structure, supporting cultural memory of landscapes as meaningful and systematically conceived.