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Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto

Canto 5 · The Creative Impetus · 26 chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

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How to study this verse, in six steps

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.

Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›

Canto 5 · Chapter 16: A Description of Jambūdvīpa

5.16.5 5.16.7

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.16.6

Sthāna· The universe in order

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.16.4inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यस्मिन्नव वर्षाणि नवयोजनसहस्रायामान्यष्टभिर्मर्यादागिरिभि: सुविभक्तानि भवन्ति ॥ ६ ॥

yasmin nava varṣāṇi nava-yojana-sahasrāyāmāny aṣṭabhir maryādā-giribhiḥ suvibhaktāni bhavanti.

Translation

In Jambūdvīpa there are nine divisions of land, each with a length of 9,000 yojanas [72,000 miles]. There are eight mountains that mark the boundaries of these divisions and separate them nicely.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Mountains Divide Jambūdvīpa Into Nine Regions

1
Jambūdvīpa has nine divisions of land. The translation gives each a length of 9,000 yojanas, or 72,000 miles.
2
Eight mountains mark the boundaries and separate these divisions.
3
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura quotes the Vāyu Purāṇa to explain the locations of the mountains and the arrangement of the regions.

Key points from the purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura gives the following quotation from the Vāyu Purāṇa, wherein the locations of the various mountains, beginning with the Himālayas, are described.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Smallness → Awe and reverence. A vast cosmos changes the reader's perspective.

Chapters 15–25 of Canto 5: The cosmic regions and divine worship. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc