Varaha Purana 80.6: Adhyaya 80, Shloka 6
Cosmographic Ordering of the Southern and Western Quarters: Valleys, Forest-Plateaus, and Sacred Sites
बिल्वस्थली नाम । तत्र फलानि विद्रुमसंकाशानि तैश्च पतद्भिः स्थलमृत्तिका क्लिन्ना । तां च स्थलीं सुगुह्यकादयः सेवन्ते बिल्वफलाशिनः । तथा च वसुधारारत्नधारयोरन्तरे त्रिंशद्योजनविस्तीर्णं शतयोजनमायतं सुगन्धिकिंशुकवनं सदाकुसुमं यस्य गन्धेन वास्यते योजनशतम् । तत्र सिद्धाध्युषितं जलोपेतं च ॥६॥
bilvasthalī nāma | tatra phalāni vidrumasaṃkāśāni taiś ca patadbhiḥ sthalamṛttikā klinnā | tāṃ ca sthalīṃ suguhyakādayaḥ sevante bilvaphalāśinaḥ | tathā ca vasudhārāratnadhārayor antare triṃśadyojanavistīrṇaṃ śatayojanam āyataṃ sugandhikiṃśukavanaṃ sadākusumaṃ yasya gandhena vāsyate yojanaśatam | tatra siddhādhyuṣitaṃ jalopetaṃ ca ||6||
Jest miejsce zwane Bilvasthalī. Tam owoce wyglądają jak koral, a gdy spadają, nawilżają glebę ziemi. Ten teren jest odwiedzany przez istoty takie jak Suguhyakowie, którzy żywią się owocami bilva. A pomiędzy Vasudhārą a Ratnadhārą leży las pachnących drzew kiṃśuka, zawsze kwitnących, trzydzieści jojan szerokości i sto jojan długości; swoim zapachem perfumuje obszar stu jojan. Jest tam zamieszkany przez Siddhów i zaopatrzony w wodę.
Varāha (default framework; speaker not explicit in this fragment)
FAQs
It exemplifies Purāṇic sacred geography by mapping named regions, distances in yojanas, and characteristic flora/fauna, preserving a literary model of how landscapes were culturally cataloged and remembered.
The verse names “Bilvasthalī” and situates a fragrant kiṃśuka-forest between “Vasudhārā” and “Ratnadhārā.” These toponyms are primarily mythic-geographic and are not securely identifiable with a single modern site in current scholarship.
While not a prescriptive moral command, the passage conveys an ecological valuation of fertile soil, water availability, and flourishing forests—framing the landscape as a protected cultural heritage space inhabited by exemplary beings (Siddhas), thereby implicitly supporting stewardship of life-sustaining environments.
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