Shloka 6

Adhyaya 57 — Clouds and Rain

Sanskrit

इन्द्रद्वीपः कशेरुमांस्ताम्रवर्णो गभस्तिमान् ।

नागद्वीपस्तथा सौम्यो गान्धर्वो वारुणस्तथा ॥

Transliteration

indradvīpaḥ kaśerumāṃs tāmravarṇo gabhastimān | nāgadvīpas tathā saumyo gāndharvo vāruṇas tathā ||

Translation

ఇంద్రద్వీపం, కశేరుమాన్, తామ్రవర్ణం, గభస్తిమాన్; అలాగే నాగద్వీపం, సౌమ్య, గాంధర్వ, వారుణ—ఇవి ద్వీపాలు/ప్రాంతాలు అని పేర్లతో చెప్పబడినవి.

Word by Word

इन्द्रद्वीपःIndra-dvīpa (the island named Indra)

कशेरुमान्having kaśeru (a kind of grass/reed)

ताम्रवर्णःcopper-colored

गभस्तिमान्radiant; having rays

नागद्वीपःNāga-dvīpa (the island named Nāga)

तथाlikewise; also

सौम्यःgentle; pleasant

गान्धर्वःGāndharva-like; pertaining to Gandharvas

वारुणःVaruṇa-related; aquatic

तथाlikewise; also

Speakers

Not within Devi Māhātmya; standard Purāṇic narration (frame-speakers not explicit in these verses)

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

CosmologySacred GeographyPurāṇic Enumeration

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse models a Purāṇic way of knowing: the world is presented as an ordered, nameable cosmos. Remembering and reciting such lists is part of cultivating a ‘map’ of dharmic space—places are not merely physical, but embedded in sacred order.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Primarily within ‘Sthāna’ (cosmic geography/arrangement of worlds and regions), with a secondary link to ‘Sarga’ insofar as cosmography presumes the created order.

What is the esoteric significance?

Enumerated dvīpas can be read symbolically as differentiated ‘fields’ of experience within the manifest world—variegated domains under a single cosmic law (ṛta/dharma).