Shloka 72

सप्तद्वीप-समुद्र-प्रमाणम्: प्लक्षादि-द्वीपवर्णनं, लोकालोक-सीमा, चन्द्र-समुद्र-वृद्धिक्षयः

Devanagari script

क्षीराब्धिः सर्वतो ब्रह्मन् पुष्कराख्येन वेष्टितः द्वीपेन शाकद्वीपात् तु द्विगुणेन समन्ततः

Transliteration

kṣīrābdhiḥ sarvato brahman puṣkarākhyena veṣṭitaḥ dvīpena śākadvīpāt tu dviguṇena samantataḥ

Translation

ஓ பிராமணரே, க்ஷீராப்தி எல்லாத் திசைகளிலும் ‘புஷ்கர’ எனப்படும் தீவால் சூழப்பட்டுள்ளது; அது சாகத்வீபத்தின் இரட்டையளவாக விரிந்து சுற்றிவளைக்கிறது।

Word by Word

क्षीराब्धिःthe milk-ocean

सर्वतःon all sides

ब्रह्मन्O Brahman (sage)

पुष्कराख्येनby that called Puṣkara

वेष्टितःsurrounded

द्वीपेनby an island/continent

शाकद्वीपात्than Śākadvīpa/from Śākadvīpa

तुbut/indeed

द्विगुणेनby twice (the measure)

समन्ततःall around

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Parashara

Maitreya

Puṣkara-dvīpa

Kṣīra-samudra (Ocean of Milk)

Śāka-dvīpa

FAQs

What is the significance of the Ocean of Milk (Kṣīra-samudra) in the Vishnu Purana?

Here it functions as a major cosmic ocean in the ordered layout of the world, showing a measured, law-governed universe where continents and oceans encircle one another in fixed proportions.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the arrangement of continents (dvīpas) in this section?

He describes a concentric model: each dvīpa and its ocean surround the previous region, and the dimensions expand by a consistent rule—here, Puṣkara-dvīpa is said to be twice the extent of Śāka-dvīpa.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this cosmological context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana frames such cosmic order as sustained by the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—whose sovereignty underlies the harmony, measure, and stability of creation.