Adhyaya 57 — The Ninefold Divisions of Bharata: Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples
अथर्वाश्चार्कलिङ्गाश्च मलकाश्च वृकैः सह ।
मध्यदेश्या जनपदाः प्रायशोऽमी प्रकीर्तिताः ॥
atharvāś cārkaliṅgāś ca malakāś ca vṛkaiḥ saha /
madhyadeśyā janapadāḥ prāyaśo 'mī prakīrtitāḥ //
اتھروہ، ارکلِنگ، مالک—اور وِرکوں کے ساتھ—یہ زیادہ تر مَدیہ دیش کے جنپد بیان کیے گئے ہیں۔
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
The Purāṇa preserves cultural memory: naming peoples and regions encourages a sense of ordered society and shared dhārmic geography across diverse communities.
Falls outside the five core markers; it is deśa-varṇana and social geography, a common Purāṇic layer supporting dharma and polity.
On a symbolic reading, ‘middle region’ can indicate the balanced path (madhyamā mārga): the text’s ordering of lands mirrors the mind’s need for structure and discernment.