Varaha Purana 77.1: Adhyaya 77, Shloka 1

Measurements of Mount Meru, the Boundary Mountains, and the Four Directional Great Trees

Devanagari script

रुद्र उवाच । यदेतत् कर्णिकामूलं मेरोर् मध्यं प्रकीर्तितम् । तद् योजनसहस्राणि संख्यया मानतः स्मृतम् ॥ ७७.१ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 77.1

Transliteration

rudra uvāca | yad etat karṇikāmūlaṃ meror madhyaṃ prakīrtitam | tad yojanasahasrāṇi saṅkhyayā mānataḥ smṛtam || 77.1 ||

Translation

Rudra rzekł: To, co jest głoszone jako korzeń karniki, centralny region góry Meru, zostało zapamiętane, według miary liczbowej, jako rozciągające się na tysiąc jodżan.

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Word by Word

• रुद्रः: Rudra
• रुद्रः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: क्रिया (Verb/Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada)

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

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: विशेषण (Demonstrative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; निर्देश (demonstrative)

• कर्णिका-मूलम्: the base of the pericarp (karnika)
• कर्णिका-मूलम्: कर्म/विषय (Object/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्णिका (प्रातिपदिक) + मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• मेरोः: of Meru
• मेरोः: सम्बन्ध (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• मध्यम्: the middle/center
• मध्यम्: समानाधिकरण/विषय (Appositive/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• प्रकीर्तितम्: is proclaimed; is stated
• प्रकीर्तितम्: विधेय (Predicate: ‘is proclaimed’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-कीर्त् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: सम्बन्ध (Correlative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अन्वय (correlative)

• योजन-सहस्राणि: thousands of yojanas
• योजन-सहस्राणि: प्रमाण/कर्म (Measure; object of ‘smṛtam’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योजन (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• संख्यया: by count; numerically
• संख्यया: करण (Karaṇa/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; प्रकारे (instrumental of manner)

• मानतः: as to measure; by measurement
• मानतः: सम्बन्ध/प्रकार (Manner/Respect)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मानतस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb): ‘in terms of measure’

• स्मृतम्: is recorded/remembered (as)
• स्मृतम्: विधेय (Predicate: ‘is remembered/recorded’)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Rudra

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmography
• Ancient Geography
• Sanskrit Studies

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It preserves a Purāṇic cosmographic convention: describing the world’s axis (Meru) through standardized numerical measures (yojana), a common feature of early Sanskrit encyclopedic literature.

Which geographic location is identified?

Mount Meru is identified as a cosmological mountain (not a single securely mappable terrestrial peak in modern scholarship), functioning as the central axis in Purāṇic world-models.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

No direct ethical injunction is stated; the verse primarily communicates a traditional metric description used to structure cosmological and sacred-geographic discourse.