Shloka 31
प्रियव्रतवंशवर्णनम् — सप्तद्वीपविभागः, जम्बूद्वीप-वर्षविभागः, भरत-नामकरणम्
ततश् च भारतं वर्षम् एतल् लोकेषु गीयते भरताय यतः पित्रा दत्तं प्रातिष्ठता वनम्
tataś ca bhārataṃ varṣam etal lokeṣu gīyate bharatāya yataḥ pitrā dattaṃ prātiṣṭhatā vanam
అందువల్ల ఈ ప్రాంతం లోకాలలో ‘భారతవర్షం’ అని కీర్తింపబడుతుంది; ఎందుకంటే తండ్రి దీనిని భరతునికి దానమిచ్చెను, భరతుడు అరణ్యంలో స్థిరనివాసం చేసెను।
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Why this varṣa is called Bhārata-varṣa
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas
Concept: Worldly sovereignty is transient; the land’s glory is remembered through the renouncer Bharata rather than through mere dominion.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Treat roles and possessions as trusteeship; prioritize inner life and dharma over identity built on territory or power.
Vishishtadvaita: The human realm (Bhārata) is meaningful as a field for surrender and God-oriented striving, not as an end in itself.
Dharma Exemplar: tyāga (renunciation)
Key Kings: Bharata
Vishnu Form: Narayana
FAQs
It presents Bhārata-varṣa as a universally recognized sacred land in the Purāṇic cosmos, whose very name carries remembered lineage and dharmic meaning.
He derives it from Bharata: the land is called Bhārata because it was given to Bharata by his father, linking geography to dynastic history.
Even when describing place-names and lineage, the Vishnu Purana frames worldly order—kingship, land, and renunciation—as part of the divinely sustained cosmic order under Vishnu’s sovereignty.