[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Purāṇas](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana) › [Vishnupurana](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu) › 2.3.19-28 # Vishnupurana 2.3.19-28 Viṣṇupurāṇa 2.3.19-28 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### [2.3.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.2.3.19) catvāri bhārate varṣe yugāny atra mahāmune kṛtaṃ tretā dvāparaṃ ca kaliś cānyatra na kvacit // > In the Bhárata-varsha it is that the succession of four Yugas, or ages, the Krita, the Treta, the Dwápara, and Kali, takes place; that pious ascetics engage in rigorous penance; that devout men offer sacrifices; and that gifts are distributed; all for the sake of another world. In Jambu-dwípa, Vishńu, consisting of sacrifice, is worshipped, as the male of sacrificial rites, with sacrificial ceremonies: he is adored under other forms elsewhere. Bhárata is therefore the best of the divisions of Jambu-dwípa, because it is the land of works: the others are places of enjoyment alone. It is only after many thousand births, and the aggregation of much merit, that living beings are sometimes born in Bhárata as men. The gods themselves exclaim, "Happy are those who are born, even from the condition of gods, as men in Bhárata-varsha, as that is the way to the pleasures of Paradise, or the greater blessing of final liberation. Happy are they who, consigning all the unheeded rewards of their acts to the supreme and eternal Vishńu, obtain existence in that land of works, as their path to him. We know not, when the acts that have obtained us heaven shall have been fully recompensed, where we shall renew corporeal confinement; but we know that those men are fortunate who are born with perfect faculties in Bhárata-varsha." > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [2.3.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.2.3.20) tapas tapyanti yatayo juhvate cātra yajvinaḥ dānāni cātra dīyante paralokārtham ādarāt // > In the Bhárata-varsha it is that the succession of four Yugas, or ages, the Krita, the Treta, the Dwápara, and Kali, takes place; that pious ascetics engage in rigorous penance; that devout men offer sacrifices; and that gifts are distributed; all for the sake of another world. In Jambu-dwípa, Vishńu, consisting of sacrifice, is worshipped, as the male of sacrificial rites, with sacrificial ceremonies: he is adored under other forms elsewhere. Bhárata is therefore the best of the divisions of Jambu-dwípa, because it is the land of works: the others are places of enjoyment alone. It is only after many thousand births, and the aggregation of much merit, that living beings are sometimes born in Bhárata as men. The gods themselves exclaim, "Happy are those who are born, even from the condition of gods, as men in Bhárata-varsha, as that is the way to the pleasures of Paradise, or the greater blessing of final liberation. Happy are they who, consigning all the unheeded rewards of their acts to the supreme and eternal Vishńu, obtain existence in that land of works, as their path to him. We know not, when the acts that have obtained us heaven shall have been fully recompensed, where we shall renew corporeal confinement; but we know that those men are fortunate who are born with perfect faculties in Bhárata-varsha." > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [2.3.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.2.3.21) puruṣair yajñapuruṣo jambūdvīpe sadejyate yajñair yajñamayo viṣṇur anyadvīpeṣu cānyathā // > In the Bhárata-varsha it is that the succession of four Yugas, or ages, the Krita, the Treta, the Dwápara, and Kali, takes place; that pious ascetics engage in rigorous penance; that devout men offer sacrifices; and that gifts are distributed; all for the sake of another world. In Jambu-dwípa, Vishńu, consisting of sacrifice, is worshipped, as the male of sacrificial rites, with sacrificial ceremonies: he is adored under other forms elsewhere. Bhárata is therefore the best of the divisions of Jambu-dwípa, because it is the land of works: the others are places of enjoyment alone. It is only after many thousand births, and the aggregation of much merit, that living beings are sometimes born in Bhárata as men. The gods themselves exclaim, "Happy are those who are born, even from the condition of gods, as men in Bhárata-varsha, as that is the way to the pleasures of Paradise, or the greater blessing of final liberation. Happy are they who, consigning all the unheeded rewards of their acts to the supreme and eternal Vishńu, obtain existence in that land of works, as their path to him. We know not, when the acts that have obtained us heaven shall have been fully recompensed, where we shall renew corporeal confinement; but we know that those men are fortunate who are born with perfect faculties in Bhárata-varsha." > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [2.3.22](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.2.3.22) atrāpi bhārataṃ śreṣṭhaṃ jambūdvīpe mahāmune yato hi karmabhūr eṣā hy ato 'nyā bhogabhūmayaḥ // > In the Bhárata-varsha it is that the succession of four Yugas, or ages, the Krita, the Treta, the Dwápara, and Kali, takes place; that pious ascetics engage in rigorous penance; that devout men offer sacrifices; and that gifts are distributed; all for the sake of another world. In Jambu-dwípa, Vishńu, consisting of sacrifice, is worshipped, as the male of sacrificial rites, with sacrificial ceremonies: he is adored under other forms elsewhere. Bhárata is therefore the best of the divisions of Jambu-dwípa, because it is the land of works: the others are places of enjoyment alone. It is only after many thousand births, and the aggregation of much merit, that living beings are sometimes born in Bhárata as men. The gods themselves exclaim, "Happy are those who are born, even from the condition of gods, as men in Bhárata-varsha, as that is the way to the pleasures of Paradise, or the greater blessing of final liberation. Happy are they who, consigning all the unheeded rewards of their acts to the supreme and eternal Vishńu, obtain existence in that land of works, as their path to him. We know not, when the acts that have obtained us heaven shall have been fully recompensed, where we shall renew corporeal confinement; but we know that those men are fortunate who are born with perfect faculties in Bhárata-varsha." > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [2.3.23](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.2.3.23) atra janmasahasrāṇāṃ sahasrair api sattama kadācil labhate jantur mānuṣyaṃ puṇyasaṃcayāt // > In the Bhárata-varsha it is that the succession of four Yugas, or ages, the Krita, the Treta, the Dwápara, and Kali, takes place; that pious ascetics engage in rigorous penance; that devout men offer sacrifices; and that gifts are distributed; all for the sake of another world. In Jambu-dwípa, Vishńu, consisting of sacrifice, is worshipped, as the male of sacrificial rites, with sacrificial ceremonies: he is adored under other forms elsewhere. Bhárata is therefore the best of the divisions of Jambu-dwípa, because it is the land of works: the others are places of enjoyment alone. It is only after many thousand births, and the aggregation of much merit, that living beings are sometimes born in Bhárata as men. The gods themselves exclaim, "Happy are those who are born, even from the condition of gods, as men in Bhárata-varsha, as that is the way to the pleasures of Paradise, or the greater blessing of final liberation. Happy are they who, consigning all the unheeded rewards of their acts to the supreme and eternal Vishńu, obtain existence in that land of works, as their path to him. We know not, when the acts that have obtained us heaven shall have been fully recompensed, where we shall renew corporeal confinement; but we know that those men are fortunate who are born with perfect faculties in Bhárata-varsha." > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [2.3.24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.2.3.24) gāyanti devāḥ kila gītakāni dhanyās tu ye bhāratabhūmibhāge svargāpavargāspadahetubhūte bhavanti bhūyaḥ puruṣāḥ suratvāt // > In the Bhárata-varsha it is that the succession of four Yugas, or ages, the Krita, the Treta, the Dwápara, and Kali, takes place; that pious ascetics engage in rigorous penance; that devout men offer sacrifices; and that gifts are distributed; all for the sake of another world. In Jambu-dwípa, Vishńu, consisting of sacrifice, is worshipped, as the male of sacrificial rites, with sacrificial ceremonies: he is adored under other forms elsewhere. Bhárata is therefore the best of the divisions of Jambu-dwípa, because it is the land of works: the others are places of enjoyment alone. It is only after many thousand births, and the aggregation of much merit, that living beings are sometimes born in Bhárata as men. The gods themselves exclaim, "Happy are those who are born, even from the condition of gods, as men in Bhárata-varsha, as that is the way to the pleasures of Paradise, or the greater blessing of final liberation. Happy are they who, consigning all the unheeded rewards of their acts to the supreme and eternal Vishńu, obtain existence in that land of works, as their path to him. We know not, when the acts that have obtained us heaven shall have been fully recompensed, where we shall renew corporeal confinement; but we know that those men are fortunate who are born with perfect faculties in Bhárata-varsha." > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [2.3.25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.2.3.25) karmāṇy asaṃkalpitatatphalāni saṃnyasya viṣṇau paramātmarūpe avāpya tāṃ karmamahīm anante tasmiṃl layaṃ ye tv amalāḥ prayānti // > In the Bhárata-varsha it is that the succession of four Yugas, or ages, the Krita, the Treta, the Dwápara, and Kali, takes place; that pious ascetics engage in rigorous penance; that devout men offer sacrifices; and that gifts are distributed; all for the sake of another world. In Jambu-dwípa, Vishńu, consisting of sacrifice, is worshipped, as the male of sacrificial rites, with sacrificial ceremonies: he is adored under other forms elsewhere. Bhárata is therefore the best of the divisions of Jambu-dwípa, because it is the land of works: the others are places of enjoyment alone. It is only after many thousand births, and the aggregation of much merit, that living beings are sometimes born in Bhárata as men. The gods themselves exclaim, "Happy are those who are born, even from the condition of gods, as men in Bhárata-varsha, as that is the way to the pleasures of Paradise, or the greater blessing of final liberation. Happy are they who, consigning all the unheeded rewards of their acts to the supreme and eternal Vishńu, obtain existence in that land of works, as their path to him. We know not, when the acts that have obtained us heaven shall have been fully recompensed, where we shall renew corporeal confinement; but we know that those men are fortunate who are born with perfect faculties in Bhárata-varsha." > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [2.3.26](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.2.3.26) jānīma naitat kva vayaṃ vilīne svargaprade karmaṇi dehabandham prāpsyāma dhanyāḥ khalu te manuṣyā ye bhārate nendriyaviprahīnāḥ // > In the Bhárata-varsha it is that the succession of four Yugas, or ages, the Krita, the Treta, the Dwápara, and Kali, takes place; that pious ascetics engage in rigorous penance; that devout men offer sacrifices; and that gifts are distributed; all for the sake of another world. In Jambu-dwípa, Vishńu, consisting of sacrifice, is worshipped, as the male of sacrificial rites, with sacrificial ceremonies: he is adored under other forms elsewhere. Bhárata is therefore the best of the divisions of Jambu-dwípa, because it is the land of works: the others are places of enjoyment alone. It is only after many thousand births, and the aggregation of much merit, that living beings are sometimes born in Bhárata as men. The gods themselves exclaim, "Happy are those who are born, even from the condition of gods, as men in Bhárata-varsha, as that is the way to the pleasures of Paradise, or the greater blessing of final liberation. Happy are they who, consigning all the unheeded rewards of their acts to the supreme and eternal Vishńu, obtain existence in that land of works, as their path to him. We know not, when the acts that have obtained us heaven shall have been fully recompensed, where we shall renew corporeal confinement; but we know that those men are fortunate who are born with perfect faculties in Bhárata-varsha." > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [2.3.27](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.2.3.27) navavarṣaṃ tu maitreya jambūdvīpam idaṃ mayā lakṣayojanavistāraṃ saṃkṣepāt kathitaṃ tava // > I have thus briefly described to you, Maitreya, the nine divisions of Jambu-dwípa, which is a hundred thousand Yojanas in extent, and which is encircled, as if by a bracelet, by the ocean of salt water, of similar dimensions. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ### [2.3.28](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.2.3.28) jambūdvīpaṃ samāvṛtya lakṣayojanavistaraḥ maitreya valayākāraḥ sthitaḥ kṣārodadhir bahiḥ // > I have thus briefly described to you, Maitreya, the nine divisions of Jambu-dwípa, which is a hundred thousand Yojanas in extent, and which is encircled, as if by a bracelet, by the ocean of salt water, of similar dimensions. > — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition ## Translations (2) - [The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu~en-wilson.2.3.8) — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, English - [A Prose English Translation of Vishnupuranam](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu~en-dutt.2.3.p5) — Manmatha Nath Dutt 1896, English ## Other recensions (1) - [Viṣṇupurāṇa (vulgate)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu*vulgate.2.3.19) — Sanskrit ## Linked texts (4) - [Brahmapurāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.brahma.19.21) — Vyāsa, Sanskrit - [Daśavidhahetunirūpaṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.vedanga.kalpa.grhya.vaikhanasa!tatparyacintamani.dasavidhahetunirupana.54.6) — Śrīnivāsamakhin, Sanskrit - [Bhagavantabhāskara](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.nibandha.mahanibandha.bhagavantabhaskara.1.p68) — Nīlakaṇṭha Dīkṣita 1625, Sanskrit - [Bhūdarpaṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.astro.siddhanta.gola.bhudarpana.p116) — Viṣṇunārāyaṇa 1818, Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.2.3.19-28](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.visnu.2.3.19-28) · Pramāṇa