Vamana Purana — Structure of Jambudvipa, Shloka 30

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

Devanagari script

गोदावरी भीमरथी कृष्णा वेणा सरस्वती तुङ्गभद्रा सुप्रयोगा वाह्या कावेरिरेव च

Transliteration

godāvarī bhīmarathī kṛṣṇā veṇā sarasvatī tuṅgabhadrā suprayogā vāhyā kāverireva ca

Translation

கோதாவரீ, பீமரதீ, க்ருஷ்ணா, வேணா, ஸரஸ்வதீ; துங்கபத்ரா, ஸுப்ரயோகா, வாஹ்யா மற்றும் காவேரீ—இவை புனித நதிகள்।

Word by Word

• godāvarī: Godāvarī (river)
• godāvarī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: godāvarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नदी-नाम

• bhīmarathī: Bhīmarathī (river name)
• bhīmarathī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhīma + rathī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (descriptive) नदी-नाम

• kṛṣṇā: Kṛṣṇā (Krishna river)
• kṛṣṇā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नदी-नाम

• veṇā: Veṇā (river)
• veṇā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नदी-नाम

• sarasvatī: Sarasvatī (river)
• sarasvatī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नदी-नाम

• tuṅgabhadrā: Tuṅgabhadrā (river)
• tuṅgabhadrā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tuṅgā + bhadrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्वन्द्व (copulative) नदी-नाम (Tuṅgā + Bhadrā)

• suprayogā: Suprayogā (river name)
• suprayogā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su + prayogā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (descriptive) नदी-नाम

• vāhyā: Vāhyā (river name)
• vāhyā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नदी-नाम

• kāverī: Kāverī (Cauvery river)
• kāverī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāverī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नदी-नाम

• eva: indeed/also
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

Speakers

• Likely Pulastya to Nārada (standard Vāmana Purāṇa dialogue frame; not explicit in provided excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Sarasvatī (as river and as devī-name, indirectly)

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Tīrtha-Māhātmya
• Pan-Indic Sacred Landscape

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

By naming rivers across regions, the text universalizes dharma: sacred practice is portable and inclusive, encouraging reverence for waterways as sources of life and ritual purity.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This is tīrtha-oriented descriptive material embedded in Purāṇic narration; it does not directly constitute sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa, but functions as dharma-upadeśa through geography.

What is the symbolic significance?

Rivers like Sarasvatī carry a dual symbolism—physical river and divine speech/knowledge—implying that pilgrimage and learning are parallel paths of purification.