Adhyaya 55 — Description of Jambudvipa: The Four Forests, Lakes, and Mountain Ranges Around Mount Meru; Bharata as the Karma-Bhumi
इति श्रीमार्कण्डेयपुराणे भुवनकोशस्थजम्बूद्वीपवर्णनं नाम चतुःपञ्चाशोऽध्यायः ।
पञ्चपञ्चाशोऽध्यायः ।
मार्कण्डेय उवाच ।
शैलेषु मन्दाराद्येषु चतुष्वपि द्विजोत्तम ।
वानानि यानि चत्वारि सरांसि च निबोध मे ॥
iti śrī-mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇe bhuvana-kośa-stha-jambūdvīpa-varṇanaṁ nāma catuḥpañcāśo ’dhyāyaḥ | pañcapañcāśo ’dhyāyaḥ | mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | śaileṣu mandārādyeṣu catuṣv api dvijottama | vānāni yāni catvāri sarāṁsi ca nibodha me ||
Sa gayon nagwakas, sa Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, ang ika-54 na kabanata na tinatawag na “Paglalarawan ng Jambūdvīpa sa Bhuvanakośa.” Ngayon nagsisimula ang ika-55 kabanata. Sinabi ni Mārkaṇḍeya: O pinakamainam sa mga dalawang-ulit na isinilang, matutuhan mo mula sa akin ang apat na gubat at ang mga lawa na nasa apat na bundok, na nagsisimula sa Mandara.
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The shift from large-scale continents to specific forests and lakes models a layered pedagogy: knowledge proceeds from macrocosm to microcosm, encouraging careful attention and ordered learning.
Sthāna: continued world-description; the colophon explicitly signals the cosmographic unit (bhuvanakośa).
Forests and lakes often function as symbols of inner cultivation (vana as disciplined retreat; saraḥ as clarity/reflective mind) within the mapped cosmos.