Shloka 3

भारतवर्षमहात्म्यम् — कर्मभूमित्वम्, नवभेदाः, कुलपर्वताः-नद्यः-जनपदाः, युगचक्रविशेषः, यज्ञपुरुषविष्णुपूजा

Devanagari script

महेन्द्रो मलयः सह्यः शुक्तिमान् ऋक्षपर्वतः विन्ध्यश् च पारियात्रश् च सप्तात्र कुलपर्वताः

Transliteration

mahendro malayaḥ sahyaḥ śuktimān ṛkṣaparvataḥ vindhyaś ca pāriyātraś ca saptātra kulaparvatāḥ

Translation

మహేంద్ర, మలయ, సహ్య, శుక్తిమాన్, ఋక్షపర్వత, వింధ్య, పారియాత్ర—ఇవే ఇక్కడ చెప్పబడిన ఏడు కులపర్వతాలు.

Word by Word

• mahendraḥ: Mahendra (mountain)
• mahendraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: महा-इन्द्र (कर्मधारय; नाम), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• malayaḥ: Malaya (mountain)
• malayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: malaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sahyaḥ: Sahya (mountain)
• sahyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• śuktimān: Śuktimān (mountain)
• śuktimān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śukti-mat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; मतुप्-प्रत्ययान्त (possessive)

• ṛkṣaparvataḥ: Ṛkṣa mountain
• ṛkṣaparvataḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + parvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: ऋक्ष-पर्वत (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-प्रायः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vindhyaḥ: Vindhya (mountain)
• vindhyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vindhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• pāriyātraḥ: Pāriyātra (mountain)
• pāriyātraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāriyātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• sapta: seven
• sapta: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, अव्ययवत् प्रयोग

• atra: here
• atra: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place: 'here')

• kula-parvatāḥ: principal mountains
• kula-parvatāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक) + parvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: कुल-पर्वत (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/निर्धारण), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Enumeration of Bhārata-varṣa’s seven kula-parvatas (principal mountain ranges)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: cataloguing

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Varshas (regions)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Bhārata’s ordered life-world is upheld by seven principal mountain ranges that define and sustain the land’s ecological and cultural dharma.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Approach sacred geography with reverence: protect mountains/rivers and let place-based dharma (community duties, pilgrimage, restraint) refine character.

Vishishtadvaita: The earth’s concrete plurality (parvatas, nadīs) is not sublated; it functions as the Lord’s body-field for dharma and bhakti to unfold.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Lakshmi Presence: Bhumi

Characters & Entities

• Mahendra
• Malaya
• Sahya
• Śuktimān
• Ṛkṣaparvata
• Vindhya
• Pāriyātra
• Bhārata-varṣa

FAQs

What is the significance of the seven Kula-parvatas in the Vishnu Purana?

They are the principal “ancestral” mountain ranges of Bhārata-varṣa, presented as structural and sacred supports that define the land within the Purāṇic cosmic order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain sacred geography to Maitreya here?

Parāśara teaches through enumerations—naming key ranges as authoritative markers of Bhārata’s layout—embedding geography within a larger theological vision of an ordered world.

What is the theological importance of Lord Viṣṇu in this context?

Even when listing mountains, the Purāṇa frames the world as coherently arranged and sustained by the Supreme Reality—Viṣṇu—so physical geography becomes part of a divinely governed cosmos.