Shloka 8
एकान्तिधर्म-प्रश्नः (Inquiry into Ekāntin Dharma) / The Origin and Practice of Single-Pointed Nārāyaṇa-Centered Discipline
क्षीरोदधेर्योत्तरतो हि द्वीप: श्वेत: स नाम्ना प्रथितो विशाल:
kṣīrodadher uttarato hi dvīpaḥ śvetaḥ sa nāmnā prathito viśālaḥ |
क्षीरोदधेरुत्तरतो हि द्वीपः श्वेतः स नाम्ना प्रथितो विशालः । मेरुपर्वतात् द्वात्रिंशत्सहस्रयोजनैः समुच्छ्रित इति विद्वद्भिरुदाहृतः । तत्र निवासिनः इन्द्रियव्यापारवर्जिताः निराहाराश्चेष्टारहिताश्च ज्ञानसम्पन्नाश्च; तेषां गात्रेभ्यः सततं दिव्यः सुगन्धो निष्पतति ॥
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage elevates the ideal of inner realization over sensory life: the highest beings are portrayed as beyond sense-impulses, beyond dependence on food, and beyond restless activity, yet rich in knowledge and purity—symbolized by their natural fragrance.
Nārada describes a wondrous northern realm beyond the Ocean of Milk: the vast Śvetadvīpa, its extraordinary height relative to Meru, and the distinctive nature of its inhabitants—sense-transcending, self-sustained, motionless outwardly, and established in knowledge.