Varaha Purana 75.23: Adhyaya 75, Shloka 23

Description of Jambūdvīpa: its regions, mountains, measurements, and cosmic structure

Devanagari script

द्वे द्वे वर्षे सहस्राणां योजनानां समुच्छ्रयः । जम्बूद्वीपस्य विस्तारस्तेषामायाम उच्यते ॥ ७५.२३ ॥

Recitation with translationVaraha Purana 75.23

Transliteration

dve dve varṣe sahasrāṇāṃ yojanānāṃ samucchrayaḥ | jambūdvīpasya vistāras teṣām āyāma ucyate || 75.23 ||

Translation

ప్రతి రెండు వర్షాలకు ఎత్తు రెండు వేల యోజనలని చెప్పబడింది. అలాగే జంబూద్వీప విస్తారము వాటి దీర్ఘ పరిమాణంగా (ఆయామంగా) వర్ణించబడింది.

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Word by Word

• dve: two
• dve: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक/स्त्री (neut/fem), प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), द्विवचन (dual); संख्याविशेषण

• dve: two (each)
• dve: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक/स्त्री (neut/fem), प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), द्विवचन (dual); पुनरुक्ति (distributive: ‘two each’)

• varṣe: in a varṣa (region)
• varṣe: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), सप्तमी विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (singular)

• sahasrāṇām: of thousands
• sahasrāṇām: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (plural)

• yojanānām: of yojanas
• yojanānām: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (plural)

• samucchrayaḥ: height/elevation
• samucchrayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sam-ud-√śri (धातु) + a (प्रातिपदिक-निर्माण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• jambū-dvīpasya: of Jambūdvīpa
• jambū-dvīpasya: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jambū + dvīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (jambvāḥ dvīpaḥ)

• vistāraḥ: extent/width
• vistāraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vistāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• teṣām: of those
• teṣām: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक/पुं (neut/masc), षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (plural)

• āyāmaḥ: length/extension
• āyāmaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āyāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• ucyate: is said/called
• ucyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लट् लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive voice)

Speaker

Varāha (default speaker within the Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue frame)

Tags

• Classical Literature
• Vaishnavism
• Ancient Geography
• Puranic Cosmography

FAQs

What is the historical significance of this verse?

It exemplifies Purāṇic cosmography, where the world is described through schematic measurements (yojanas) and regional divisions (varṣas), reflecting premodern South Asian geographic imagination rather than modern cartography.

Which geographic location is identified?

Jambūdvīpa is named—the central continent in Purāṇic cosmology, commonly treated in scholarship as a mytho-geographic construct that sometimes overlays idealized conceptions of the inhabited world.

What is the primary ethical instruction?

The verse is primarily descriptive (cosmological-geographic) rather than prescriptive; its philosophical value lies in presenting an ordered cosmos through measure and proportion.