Vamana Purana — Structure of Jambudvipa, Shloka 37

The Structure of Jambudvipa: Nine Varshas, Navadvipa Bharata, Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples

Devanagari script

वाह्लीका वाटधानाश्च आभीराः कालतोयकाः अपरान्तास्तथा शूद्राः पह्लावाश्च सखेटकाः

Transliteration

vāhlīkā vāṭadhānāśca ābhīrāḥ kālatoyakāḥ aparāntāstathā śūdrāḥ pahlāvāśca sakheṭakāḥ

Translation

«Также (упоминаются) Вахлики (Vāhlīka), Ватадханы (Vāṭadhāna), Абхиры (Ābhīra), Калатояки (Kālatoyaka); равно и Апаранты (Aparānta), Шудры (Śūdra), Пахлавы (Pahlava) и Сакхетаки (Sakheṭaka).»

Word by Word

• वाह्लीकाः: Vāhlīkas
• वाह्लीकाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाह्लीक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• वाटधानाः: Vāṭadhānas
• वाटधानाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाटधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; conjunction

• आभीराः: Ābhīras
• आभीराः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आभीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• कालतोयकाः: Kālatoyakas
• कालतोयकाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल + तोयक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास

• अपरान्ताः: Aparāntas (westerners)
• अपरान्ताः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपरान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय (adverb: 'thus/likewise')

• शूद्राः: Śūdras
• शूद्राः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• पह्लावाः: Pahlavas
• पह्लावाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पह्लाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; conjunction

• सखेटकाः: Sakheṭakas
• सखेटकाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सखेटक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

Speakers

• Not specified in input (often framed as Pulastya → Nārada in Vāmana Purāṇa narrative layers)

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Purāṇic Ethnography
• Janapada Catalogues

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse functions descriptively rather than prescriptively: it situates the Purāṇa’s sacred landscape within a broader human geography, implying that dharma and pilgrimage discourse addresses a world of diverse peoples beyond a single region.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Best aligned with ancillary material supporting Vamśānucarita/Manvantara-style world descriptions (often folded into ‘vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita’ or general cosmographical-ethnographical narration rather than sarga/pratisarga proper).

What is the symbolic significance?

Lists of ‘janapadas’ and ‘jātis’ symbolically universalize the text’s scope: sacred order (dharma) is portrayed as spanning many lands and cultures, mapping the moral-religious cosmos onto the inhabited world.