Shloka 5

Adhyaya 49: जम्बूद्वीप-मेर्वादि-वर्षपर्वत-वन-सरः-रुद्रक्षेत्र-वर्णनम्

Devanagari script

मेरोः पश्चिमतश्चैव पर्वतौ द्वौ धराधरौ माल्यवान्गन्धमादश् च द्वावेतावुदगायतौ

Transliteration

meroḥ paścimataścaiva parvatau dvau dharādharau mālyavāngandhamādaś ca dvāvetāvudagāyatau

Translation

کوہِ مِیرو کے مغرب میں زمین کو تھامنے والے دو پہاڑ ہیں—مالیَوان اور گندھمادن۔ یہ دونوں شمال کی طرف پھیلے ہوئے ہیں اور عالم کی ترتیب کو سنبھالے رکھتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• meroḥ: of Meru

• paścimataḥ: to the west

• ca eva: and indeed

• parvatau: two mountains

• dvau: two

• dharā-dharau: earth-bearers/supporters of the earth

• mālyavān: (the mountain) Mālyavān

• gandhamādaḥ: (the mountain) Gandhamādana

• ca: and

• dvau etau: these two

• udag-āyatau: stretching/extended toward the north

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Characters & Entities

• Meru
• Malyavan
• Gandhamadana

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

By describing the world’s stable, dharma-ordered geography upheld by “earth-bearer” mountains, the verse supports the Shaiva view that the cosmos rests on Pati (Shiva) as the ultimate support—an outlook central to Linga worship, where the Linga signifies the unwavering ground of manifestation.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

Though not naming Shiva directly, it points to the principle of sustentation: just as mountains uphold the earth’s order, Shiva-tattva as Pati upholds the entire field in which pashus (souls) experience pasha (bondage) and move toward liberation.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse is primarily cosmographic, but it aligns with Pashupata Yoga’s contemplative discipline: meditating on cosmic order (ṛta/dharma) as supported by Pati, cultivating steadiness (dhāraṇā) and reverence that later expresses as Linga-puja.