Devanagari
स्फीताञ्जनपदांस्तत्र पुरग्रामव्रजाकरान् ।
खेटखर्वटवाटीश्च वनान्युपवनानि च ॥ ११ ॥
Verse text
sphītāṣ janapadāṁs tatra
pura-grāma-vrajākarān
kheṭa-kharvaṭa-vāṭīś ca
vanāny upavanāni ca
Synonyms
sphītān
—
very flourishing
;
jana
—
padān — metropolises
;
tatra
—
there
;
pura
—
towns
;
grāma
—
villages
;
vraja
—
big farms
;
ākarān
—
mineral fields (mines)
;
kheṭa
—
agricultural lands
;
kharvaṭa
—
valleys
;
vāṭīḥ
—
flower gardens
;
ca
—
and
;
vanāni
—
forests
;
upavanāni
—
nursery gardens
;
ca
—
and .
Translation
After my departure, I passed through many flourishing metropolises, towns, villages, animal farms, mines, agricultural lands, valleys, flower gardens, nursery gardens and natural forests.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
I passed through large populated areas, capitals, brāhmaṇa villages, cowherd villages, mines, farms, villages on mountain sides, gardens of flowers and betel, wild groves and plantations.
Purport
Man’s activities in agriculture, mining, farming, industries, gardening, etc., were all on the same scale as they are now, even previous to the present creation, and the same activities will remain as they are, even in the next creation. After many hundreds of millions of years, one creation is started by the law of nature, and the history of the universe repeats itself practically in the same way. The mundane wranglers waste time with archaeological excavations without searching into the vital necessities of life. After getting an impetus in spiritual life, Śrī Nārada Muni, even though a mere child, did not waste time for a single moment with economic development, although he passed towns and villages, mines and industries. He continually went on to progressive spiritual emancipation.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
is the repetition of history which happened some hundreds of millions of years ago. As it is said herein, only the most important factors of history are picked up to be recorded in this transcendental literature.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Four verses are connected together with the following general structure; leaving behind the inhabited areas, I continued walking, and saw a large forest. Pura means capital cities. According to Bhṛgu:
viprāś ca vipra-bhṛtyāś ca yatra caiva vasanti te |
sa tu grāma iti proktaḥ śūdrāṇāṁ vāsa eva ca ||
That place where brāhmaṇas and their servants live is called grāma. It also refers to a living place of śūdras.
Vraja means cow sheds. Ākarān means mines, from which jewels are dug. Kheta means farming village. Kharvaṭa means villages on the sides of mountains. Or Bhṛgu says:
ekato yatra tu grāmo nagaraṁ caikataḥ sthitam |
miśraṁ tu kharvaṭaṁ nāma nadī-giri-samāśrayam ||
When villages and towns situated on rivers or mountains become mixed together as one it is called kharvaṭa.
Vāṭīḥ means gardens of flowers and betel. Vanāni refers to groups of trees growing together by themselves. Upavanāni refers to groups of trees which were planted.