Varaha Purana 77.2: Adhyaya 77, Shloka 2

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

Devanagari script

चत्वारिंशत् तथा चाष्टौ सहस्राणि तु मण्डलैः । शैलराजस्य तत्तत्र मेरुमूलमिति स्मृतम् ॥ ७७.२ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 77.2

Transliteration

catvāriṁśat tathā cāṣṭau sahasrāṇi tu maṇḍalaiḥ | śailarājasya tattatra merumūlam iti smṛtam || 77.2 ||

Translation

Jest czterdzieści osiem tysięcy jednostek, mierzonych podziałami kołowymi. Ta kraina tam, należąca do króla gór, jest tradycyjnie pamiętana jako 'korzeń Meru'.

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Word by Word

• चत्वारिंशत्: forty
• चत्वारिंशत्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चत्वारिंशत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या-विशेषण (numeral adjective); नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (used with नपुंसक plural count)

• तथा: also/thus
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/उपमानार्थ-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: 'thus/also')

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• अष्टौ: eight
• अष्टौ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या-विशेषण; पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा, बहुवचन (numeral 'eight')

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक-निपात (particle: 'but/indeed')

• मण्डलैः: by/with circles (zones/regions)
• मण्डलैः: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन

• शैलराजस्य: of the king of mountains
• शैलराजस्य: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैलराज (प्रातिपदिक: शैल + राज)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): शैलस्य राजा

• तत्: that (it)
• तत्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb: 'there')

• मेरुमूलम्: the root/base of Meru
• मेरुमूलम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेरुमूल (प्रातिपदिक: मेरु + मूल)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): मेरॊः मूलम्

• इति: thus/so called
• इति: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यादि-उद्धरणसूचक (quotative particle)

• स्मृतम्: is remembered/considered
• स्मृतम्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive sense: 'is remembered/called')

Speaker

Varāha (default speaker within Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue framework)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Purāṇic Cosmography
• Ancient Geography
• Vaishnavism

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies Purāṇic cosmography by presenting quantified spatial description (in thousands and by maṇḍalas), reflecting how premodern Sanskrit texts systematized sacred geography through enumerative measures.

Which geographic location is identified?

The verse identifies “Merumūla” (the root/base of Mount Meru), a cosmological locus rather than a securely mappable terrestrial site; in scholarship it is treated as part of the Purāṇic world-model centered on Meru.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

No direct ethical injunction is stated; the passage primarily transmits a traditional classification of sacred-cosmological space, contributing indirectly to cultural heritage mapping and the conceptual ordering of the world.