Shloka 3
Description and Measurements of Śākadvīpa
with Oceans, Mountains, Varṣas, and Rivers
शाल्मलं चैव तत्त्वेन क्रौंचद्वीपं तथैव च । सूत उवाच । विप्राः सुबहवो द्वीपाः यैरिदं संततं जगत् । सप्तद्वीपान्प्रवक्ष्यामि शृणुध्वं द्विजपुंगवाः
śālmalaṃ caiva tattvena krauṃcadvīpaṃ tathaiva ca | sūta uvāca | viprāḥ subahavo dvīpāḥ yairidaṃ saṃtataṃ jagat | saptadvīpānpravakṣyāmi śṛṇudhvaṃ dvijapuṃgavāḥ
«И также, поистине, Шалмала-двипу, и точно так же Краунча-двипу». Сута сказал: «О брахманы, много двип, которыми распростёрт этот мир. Я изложу семь двип — слушайте, о лучшие из дважды-рождённых».
Sūta
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: celestial_realm
Sandhi Resolution Notes: चैव = च + एव; तथैव = तथा + एव; यैरिदं = यैः + इदम्; सप्तद्वीपान्प्रवक्ष्यामि = सप्तद्वीपान् + प्रवक्ष्यामि; द्विजपुंगवाः = द्विज + पुंगवाः (समास)
FAQs
In Purāṇic cosmography, the world is described as structured into seven major dvīpas (often rendered as continents/island-realms). This verse introduces Sūta’s intention to explain that sevenfold division.
The speaker is Sūta, addressing “viprāḥ” and “dvijapuṅgavāḥ,” i.e., brāhmaṇas/the best among the twice-born, in a didactic discourse.
The verse functions as a transition: it signals a systematic explanation of Purāṇic geography/cosmology, asserting that many dvīpas extend the world while focusing the teaching on the canonical set of seven.