Shloka 16

लोकसंस्थानम्, ग्रहदूरी-प्रमाणम्, ब्रह्माण्डावरणानि, विष्णोः जगत्कारणत्वम्

Devanagari script

पादगम्यं तु यत् किंचिद् वस्त्व् अस्ति पृथिवीमयम् स भूर्लोकः समाख्यातो विस्तरो ऽस्य मयोदितः

Transliteration

pādagamyaṃ tu yat kiṃcid vastv asti pṛthivīmayam sa bhūrlokaḥ samākhyāto vistaro 'sya mayoditaḥ

Translation

สิ่งใดก็ตามที่เดินเท้าไปถึงได้—อาณาบริเวณอันเป็นรูปธรรมซึ่งประกอบด้วยธาตุปฐวี—สิ่งนั้นประกาศว่าเป็นภูรโลกะ และข้าพเจ้าได้กล่าวถึงความกว้างของมันแล้ว

Word by Word

• pādagamyam: reachable on foot
• pādagamyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक) + gamya (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘पादेन गम्य’ (reachable by foot)

• tu: but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• yat: whatever which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• kiṃcit: anything, something
• kiṃcit: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक (indefinite)

• vastu: a thing, entity
• vastu: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vastu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विषय/कर्म (thing)

• asti: exists / is
• asti: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘is/exists’

• pṛthivīmayam: made of earth
• pṛthivīmayam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pṛthivī (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण; ‘पृथिवीमय’ = made of earth

• saḥ: that
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम; कर्ता

• bhūrlokaḥ: Bhūrloka (earth-world)
• bhūrlokaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūr (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता/विषय

• samākhyātaḥ: is designated
• samākhyātaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-khyā (धातु) → samākhyāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘is designated/called’

• vistaraḥ: the extent, expansion
• vistaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता (subject of ‘uditaḥ’)

• asya: of this
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive: of this)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; तृतीया, एकवचन; करण/कर्तृ (by me)

• uditaḥ: has been stated
• uditaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-i (धातु) → udita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘has been stated/uttered’

Speaker

Sage Parāśara

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Definition and extent of Bhūrloka as earth-constituted, foot-traversable realm

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas (worlds)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Bhūrloka is defined by tangibility and earth-element constitution—what is physically traversable and materially grounded.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Treat embodied life as a specific field of practice: act ethically in the ‘walkable’ world and use material life as support for sādhana.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms the reality and meaningfulness of the material world (acit) as a mode of Brahman’s body, aligning with Viśiṣṭādvaita’s ontological realism.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)

Lakshmi Presence: Bhumi (earth)

Characters & Entities

• Bhūrloka
• Pṛthivī (earth element)

FAQs

What is the significance of Bhūrloka in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse defines Bhūrloka as the earth-constituted realm that is physically traversable, grounding the Purana’s cosmology in the tangible, inhabited world.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the concept of a 'loka' here?

Parāśara characterizes a loka by its substance (earth-element) and practical accessibility (walkable/inhabitable expanse), then states he has already described its extent.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even in a descriptive cosmological passage, the Vishnu Purana’s framework treats the ordered structure of lokas as part of the divinely sustained cosmos—ultimately upheld by Vishnu as the sovereign ground of reality.