Shloka 39

Sapta-dvīpa Cosmography and the Vision of Śvetadvīpa–Vaikuṇṭha

Devanagari script

शाकद्वीपं समावृत्य क्षीरोदः सागरः स्थितः / श्वेतद्वीपश्च तन्मध्ये नारायणपरायणाः

Transliteration

śākadvīpaṃ samāvṛtya kṣīrodaḥ sāgaraḥ sthitaḥ / śvetadvīpaśca tanmadhye nārāyaṇaparāyaṇāḥ

Translation

รอบ ๆ ศากทวีปมีมหาสมุทรน้ำนม (กษีโรทะ) โอบล้อมอยู่; ภายในนั้นมีเศวตทวีป ซึ่งชาวเกาะทั้งปวงมุ่งมั่นภักดีต่อพระนารายณ์

Word by Word

• शाकद्वीपम्: Śāka-dvīpa (the island/continent named Śāka)
• शाकद्वीपम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाक-द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (शाकस्य द्वीपः)

• समावृत्य: having surrounded
• समावृत्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-√वृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; ‘having surrounded/encircled’

• क्षीरोदः: the Milk-ocean
• क्षीरोदः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षीर-उद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (क्षीरस्य उदः/उदधिः)

• सागरः: ocean
• सागरः: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स्थितः: is situated
• स्थितः: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘is situated/stands’

• श्वेतद्वीपः: Śveta-dvīpa (the White Island)
• श्वेतद्वीपः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वेत-द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय (श्वेतः द्वीपः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• तत्: of that
• तत्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-एकवचनार्थे षष्ठी-सम्बन्धेन समासपूर्वपद; ‘of that’ (in tanmadhye)

• मध्ये: in the middle
• मध्ये: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अधिकरण

• नारायणपरायणाः: devoted to Nārāyaṇa
• नारायणपरायणाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नारायण-परायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (नारायणः परायणं येषाम्/नारायणपरायण)

Speaker

Sūta (narrating the Purāṇic cosmography as taught in the Kurma Purana’s discourse)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Śākadvīpa
• Kṣīroda Sāgara (Ocean of Milk)
• Śvetadvīpa
• Nārāyaṇa

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

It identifies the highest spiritual orientation as taking Nārāyaṇa as the supreme refuge (parāyaṇa), implying that liberation-minded beings center their consciousness on the Supreme Lord as the ultimate Reality beyond worldly geography.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific technique is prescribed in this line; the implied sādhana is ekāgratā (one-pointedness) expressed as nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇatā—steady devotional absorption that aligns with broader Kurma Purana teachings on disciplined worship and inner recollection.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

Though the verse is explicitly Vaiṣṇava (devotion to Nārāyaṇa), the Kurma Purana’s wider Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis frames such devotion as compatible with reverence to Śiva—different names and forms guiding seekers toward the same Supreme principle.