Varaha Purana 75.6 — Adhyaya 75, Shloka 6
Description of Jambūdvīpa: its regions, mountains, measurements, and cosmic structure
नव वर्षं प्रवक्ष्यामि जम्बूद्वीपं यथातथम् । विस्तारान्मण्डलाच्चैव योजनैस्तन्निबोधत ॥ ७५.६ ॥
nava varṣaṃ pravakṣyāmi jambūdvīpaṃ yathātatham | vistārān maṇḍalāc caiva yojanais tan nibodhata || 75.6 ||
บัดนี้เราจักอธิบาย “เก้าวรรษะ” แห่งชมพูทวีปตามความเป็นจริง—ทั้งความกว้างขวาง รูปทรงเป็นวงกลม และมาตราวัดเป็นโยชนะ; เพราะฉะนั้นจงสดับและเข้าใจโดยตั้งใจเถิด।
Varāha
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"aspect_highlighted":"dialogue","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"As instructor in the Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue, he begins a systematic cosmographic teaching meant for Bhū-devī’s understanding."}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"curious, attentive, seeking structured knowledge of the world-system","key_question":"What are the nine varṣas of Jambūdvīpa, and what are their true extents, circular arrangement, and measurements?"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":false,"topic":"None","instruction_summary":"None","karmic_consequence":"None"}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":true,"symbolic_interpretation":"Varāha here functions as the revealer of cosmic order (ṛta) through measured description (māna), implying that the world is intelligible and ritually/mentally mappable—knowledge itself becomes a sustaining act for Earth.","yajna_varaha_imagery":"Implicit: ‘maṇḍala’ (circular configuration) evokes the yajña-maṇḍala/vedi; ‘yojana-māna’ parallels ritual measurement that makes sacred space effective.","vedantic_connection":"Cosmography as upāsanā-support: contemplating ordered creation as a manifestation of Nārāyaṇa’s vibhūti; the ‘true as it is’ (yathātatham) tone echoes satya-jñāna as a means to steadiness of buddhi."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"epistemic-dharma (right knowing as support of right living)","core_concept":"The cosmos is structured, measurable, and teachable; attentive reception of śāstra yields clarity about one’s place in the whole.","practical_application":"Cultivate śravaṇa (attentive listening) and systematic study; use cosmographic contemplation to stabilize mind and orient dharmic life."}
Subject Matter: ["Cosmology","Geography","Heritage Sites"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: cosmic continent / sacred cosmographic region
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa cosmography sequence continuing through description of varṣas, mountains, and oceans (adjacent verses in adhyāya 75)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Varāha as divine teacher addressing Bhū-devī, with a cosmic map/mandala of Jambūdvīpa indicated—nine divisions hinted within a circular diagram.","item_prompts":["Varāha in regal divine form (boar-headed or implied) seated as teacher","Bhū-devī listening with folded hands","circular mandala/map with nine segments","inscribed yojana measures or measuring cord","background of oceans and concentric rings"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: Varāha as upadeśa-mūrti, Bhū-devī seated, bold flat colors, ornate jewelry; a stylized circular cosmographic mandala behind them with nine compartments.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style: central Varāha teacher with gold-leaf halo and heavy ornaments; Bhū-devī at side; raised gesso circular mandala with nine divisions and ocean ring.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style: delicate linework, soft shading; Varāha instructing, palm-leaf manuscript and measuring cord; refined mandala diagram of Jambūdvīpa.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari style: intimate teaching scene in a pavilion; bright landscape with a symbolic circular island-map; Bhū-devī attentive, Varāha gesturing to the mandala."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"didactic, contemplative","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"medium-slow","voice_tone":"clear, measured, teacherly"}
FAQs
It introduces a structured Purāṇic geographic-cosmological exposition, signaling an attempt to systematize the world into named regions with conventional measures (yojanas), useful for studying premodern South Asian models of space and cartographic imagination.
Jambūdvīpa is named—the central dvīpa in Purāṇic cosmography, often treated in scholarship as a mytho-geographic framework that integrates known regions with symbolic continental divisions rather than a one-to-one modern map location.
The verse primarily functions as a methodological instruction—an invitation to attentive learning and accurate understanding—rather than a direct moral rule; it frames knowledge transmission with an emphasis on clarity, measurement, and orderly description.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.