27 verses
King Parīkṣit said: You have described the specific dimensions of Bhū-maṇòala, which extends as far as the sun shines and within which the moon along with the other luminaries are seen.
In Bhū-maṇòala, seven oceans were created by the seven ditches made by the wheel of Priyavratas chariot from which seven islands of Bhū-maṇòala, each with distinctive construction appeared, and were described by you. O great devotee! I desire to know all about the oceans and islands, with their measurements and qualities.
Seven seas were created, from which (yataḥ) seven island, each of distinctive construction (viśeṣa-vikalpaḥ) belonging to the earth (etasyāḥ) were formed. I desire to know all about the oceans and islands (etat).
O guru! The mind fixed on the Lords gross form made of matter can absorb itself in the supreme Brahman, Bhagavān, Vāsudeva, light of the soul, who is beyond matter. Therefore, you should explain the structure of the universe.
This verse states the result of such inquiry. The word mayā (by me) is not used. (Parīkṣit does not say By fixing my mind on the Lords gross form...) This indicates that Parīkṣit asks the question, not for himself, but at the request of bhakti-miśra-yogīs present at the gathering who desired to concentrate their minds. I however drink with my ears the honey of topics of the Lord flowing from your lotus mouth. That is my way of attaining the Lord. The phrase bhagavato guṇamaye sthūla-rūpe indicates that the gross form of the universe made of guṇas belongs to the Lord (using possessive case bhagavataḥ). It is thus different from the Lord. The words in the phrase aguṇe 'pi sūkṣmatama ātma-jyotiṣi pare brahmaṇi bhagavati are all in the same case, indicating their equivalence. (Bhagavān is Brahman, the light of the soul, the finest, beyond the guṇas.) This indicates that the Lord is beyond the guṇas. O guru! This indicates that because you are the guru of all the sages you should explain this.
Śukadeva said: O King! It is not possible even for a person with the lifespan of a devatā to understand by words or mind the end of the transformations of māyās guṇas, belonging to the Lord. Therefore by giving a general description I will explain the particulars of Bhū-loka, giving characteristics of name, shape and dimension.
Kāṣṭam means end. Rūpam means shape or appearance. Lakṣaṇam means marking.
The central portion within the seven islands which are situated as circular coverings in the lotus of Bhū-maṇòala, which is for certain this visible Jambūdvīpa, is 100,000 yojanas (niyuta) wide and is circular like a lotus leaf.
the central portion (kośa) within the seven islands situated as circular coverings (kośa) in the lotus of Bhū-maṇòala (kuvalaya)-- which is for certain (vai) this visible Jambūdvīpa-- is 100,000 yojanas (niyuta) wide.
In Jambūdvīpa there are nine divisions of land, each extending to a width of 9,000 yojanas,1 completely separated by eight mountain ranges.
Āyāmaṇ here means the length. The mountain ranges include the Himālayas. The form is described in the Vāyu Purāṇa:
dhanurvat saṁsthite jñeye dve varṣe dakṣiṇottare
dīrghāṇi tatra catvāri caturasram ilāvṛtam
Two varṣas on the north and south are bow-shaped. Four other varṣas are long and Ilāvṛta is square.
The varṣa in the south is Bhārata and that in the north is Uttarakuru. The four long varṣas are Kuṁpuruṣa, Harivarṣa, Ramyaka and Hiranmayāni. Bhadrāśva and Ketumāla are also shaped like bows, bordered by Nīla and Niṣadha mountain ranges running horizontally and entering the sea. Their width is nine thousand yojanas except for Ketumāla and Bhadraśva in the middle. Ilāvṛta is nine thousand yojanas in all four directions from Meru (which has a 16,000 yojana base). Ilāvrta, Bhadrāśva and Ketumālā are thus 34,000 yojanas in width (16,000 + 9000, + 9000).
In the center of these is Ilāvṛta, in the center of which is Meru, the king of mountains, made of gold, whose height is the length of Jambūdvīpa, and which acts as the pericarp of the lotus. At its top it measures 32,000 yojanas and at the base 16,000 yojanas. It extends 16,000 yojanas within the earth.
Nābhyām means inside. The island is 100,000 yojanas long. That is the height of the mountain. At the base it spreads out for 16,000 yojanas. Since it extends 16,000 yojanas within the earth, 84,000 yojanas of Meru are visible above the ground.
Just north of Ilāvṛta-varṣaand going further northward, one after anotherare three mountains named Nīla, Śveta and Śṛḍgavān. These mark the borders of the three varṣas named Ramyaka, Hiraṇmaya and Kuru and separate them from one another. The width of these mountains is 2,000 yojanas. Lengthwise, they extend east and west to the ocean of salt water. The length of each mountain decreased by a little more than 10% compared to the previous mountain.
North of Ilāvrṭa are the mountain ranges starting with Nīla. The mountains extend on the east and west (ubhayataḥ) to the salt ocean. The mountains after Nīla become shorter than 100,000 yojanas by a little over 10% each.
Similarly, south of Ilāvṛta-varṣa and extending from east to west are three great mountains named Niṣadha, Hemakūṭa and Himālaya. Each of them is 10,000 yojanas high, similar to Nīla and the rest. They mark the boundaries of the three varṣas named Hari-varṣa, Kimpuruṣa-varṣa and Bhārata-varṣa.
They are 10,000 yojanas in height. Nīla and the other mountains to the north of Ilāvṛta are the same height. The width of these mountains is the same as Nīla. They mark the boundaries respectively of the varṣas.
In the same way, west and east of Ilāvṛta-varṣa are two great mountains named Mālyavān and Gandhamādana respectively. These two mountains, which are 2,000 yojanas high, extend as far as Nīla Mountain in the north and Niṣadha in the south. They produce the borders of the varṣas known as Ketumāla and Bhadrāśva.
In the west (apareṇa) and east directions extend in length to Nīla in the north and Niṣadha in the south. They are 34,000 yojanas in length. In a line from south to north, Bharata, Kiṁpuruṣa and Harivarṣa are 27,000 yojanas in total (9000 each in width). The mountains Himālaya, Hemakūṭa and Niṣadhā, each 2000 yojanas, make 6000 yojanas in total. Sumeru and Ilāvṛta are 34,000 yojanas wide. Ramyaka, Hiraṇmaya and Kuru are 27,000 yojanas in total. Nīla, Śveta and Śṛḍgavān are at total of 6000 yojanas. The total comes to 100,000 yojanas. Measuring from east to west, Bhadrāśva is 31,000 yojanas, Sumeru and Ilāvṛta are 34,000 yojanas and Ketumāla is 31,000 yojanas. The Gandhamādana and Mālyavān mountains are 4000 yojanas each. The total across is also 100,000 yojanas.
On the four sides of the great mountain known as Sumeru are four mountains-Mandara, Merumandara, Supārśva and Kumudawhich are supporting mountains. The length and height of these mountains are calculated to be 10,000 yojanas.
The length (vistāra) and height of the supporting mountains is 10,000 yojanas. Since they act as the support of Meru in the center, the mountains on the east and west side of Meru run south and north in length, and the mountains on the north and south run east and west. If each mountain was 10,000 yojanas wide, Ilāvṛta would disappear (since it is only 9000 yojanas on either side of Meru.) This would contradict the descriptions in SB 5.16.16 stating that juice cascades from the Mandara Mountain in waterfalls and becomes a river called Aruṇodā, which flows pleasantly through the eastern side of Ilāvṛta. Vistāra here means length. They spread out in the four directions (catur-diśam).
Standing like flagstaffs on the summits of these four mountains starting with Mandara are a mango tree, a rose apple (jambū) tree, a kadamba tree and a banyan tree. Those trees are calculated to have a width of 100 yojanas and a height of 1,100 yojanas. Their branches also spread out for a length of 1,100 yojanas.
Their height is over a thousand, meaning 1100 yojanas and their branches spread out that length. The width is 100 yojanas.
O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, best of the Bharata dynasty! On these four mountains are four huge lakes, filled with milk, honey, sugarcane juice, and pure water respectively. The celestial beings such as the Siddhas, Cāraṇas and Gandharvas who use those waters naturally possess perfections of mystic yoga. There are also four celestial gardens named Nandana, Caitraratha, Vaibhrājaka and Sarvatobhadra.
Groups of best of the devatās, along with their wives, enjoy within those gardens, while their glories are sung by upadevatās.
Parivṛddhāḥ means the best. Lalāma means ornament.
On the lower slopes of Mandara Mountain is a mango tree named Devacūta, 1,100 yojanas high. Mangoes as big as mountain peaks and as sweet as nectar fall from the top of this tree.
The size of the fruit is mentioned in the Vāyu Purāṇa:
aratnīnāṁ śatāny aṣṭāv eka-ṣaṣṭy-adhikāni ca
phala-pramāṇam ākhyātam ṛṣibhis tattva-darśibhir
The sages, seers of truth, say that the dimension of the fruit is 861 aratnis (861 x 1.5 ft).
The river names Arunoòā, filled with reddish liquid, fragrant and very sweet, mixed with other scents, arising from broken, ripe mangoes, falls from the peak of Mandara Mountain and flows into Ilāvṛta on the eastern side.
The mangoes have their natural scent, mixed with other fragrances (sugandhi) as well.
From drinking the water of the River Aruṇodā, the bodies of maidservants of Śivas wife, who are the wives of Yakṣas, become fragrant, and the wind, fragrant from touching their bodies, perfumes the entire atmosphere for ten yojanas around.
A river named Jambū-nadī, formed from the juice of the jambū fruit, which are as big as elephants and have small seeds, and which break into pieces because of falling from a great height, falls a distance of 10,000 yojanas from the summit of Merumandara Mountain, and then flows to the south, increasing its size to cover the length of Ilāvṛta.
Anasthi-prāyāṇām means having very small seeds. Dakṣṇena means in the southern direction. The river flows, increasing its length to the size of Ilāvṛta (yāvat ilāvrṭam). That means it flows for nine thousand yojanas.
The mud on both banks of the River Jambū-nadī, being moistened by the flowing juice, by a reaction with the air and the sunshine, produces huge quantities of gold called jambū-nada, which the devatās use for ornaments. All the devatās and their youthful wives wear this gold in the form of golden crowns, bangles and belts.
The mud of the entire (tāvat) banks (rodhasoḥ), mixed with the juice of the jāmbu fruits, become gold called jāmbū-nada.
Five rivers of honey, each about five vyāmas wide, which flow from the hollows of the tree called Mahākadamba growing on Supārśva Mountain fall from the top of Supārśva Mountain in the western direction and gives pleasure to itself and the whole of Ilāvṛta-varṣa.
Āyāma means a vyāma. A vyāma is the space produced by extending the two arms and the fingers. The width of each river is five vyāmas. Another version has pañca-vyāma-pariṇāhāḥ. It feels pleasure itself by hearing the praises of the people.
The air carrying the scent from the mouths of those who drink that honey perfumes the land for a hundred yojanas around.
Similarly, on Kumuda Mountain there is a great banyan tree, which is called Śatavalśa. Flowing down from its branches are many rivers fulfilling all desires such as milk, yogurt, honey, ghee, molasses, food, clothing bedding, seats and ornaments. These rivers, flowing down from the top of the mountain to the northern side of Ilāvṛta-varṣa, give happiness to Ilāvrṭa.
Śatavalṣaḥ means seven branches. Nīcīnāḥ means downward.
The residents of the material world who enjoy the products of these flowing rivers have no suffering such as wrinkles, grey hair, fatigue, foul smelling perspiration, old age, disease, untimely death, cold, heat, loss of luster, or troubles. They all live their whole life with unlimited happiness.
On the eastern side of Sumeru Mountain are two mountains named Jaṭhara and Devakūṭa, which extend to the north and south for 18,000 yojanas. Similarly, on the western side of Sumeru are two mountains named Pavana and Pāriyātra, which also extend north and south for the same distance. On the southern side of Sumeru are two mountains named Kailāsa and Karavīra, which extend east and west for 18,000 yojanas, and on the northern side of Sumeru, extending for the same distance east and west, are two mountains named Triśṛḍga and Makara. The width and height of all these mountains is 2,000 yojanas. Sumeru, a mountain of solid gold, surrounded by these eight mountains, shines like fire.
In the middle of the summit of Meru is the township of Lord Brahmā. Each of its four sides is calculated to extend for many thousands of yojanas.3 It is made entirely of gold, and therefore learned scholars and sages call it Śātakaumbhī.
Surrounding Brahmapurī in all directions are the residences of the eight principal governors of the directions, beginning with King Indra. These abodes are similar to Brahmapurī but are one fourth the size.
These cities are in the directions starting from the east, each with their particular deities such as Indra and their corresponding colors. Their size is 2.5 million yojanas. Their names are understood from other Purāṇas:
merau nava-purāṇi syur manovaty amarāvatī
tejovatī saṁyamanī tathā kṛṣṇāḍganā parā
śraddhāvatī gandhavatī tathā cānyā mahodayā
yaśovatī ca brahmendra vahnyādīnāṁ yathā kramam
On Meru there are nine cities name Manovatī, Amarāvatī, Tejovatī, Saṁyamanī, Kṛṣṇāḍganā, Śraddhāvatī, Gandhavatī, Mahodayā, Yaśovatī, belonging to Brahmā, Indra, Agni and others.4
Thus ends the commentary on the Sixteenth Chapter of the Fifth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
The Sixteenth Chapter describes the dimensions of Jambūdvīpa and Sumeru, which is the middle of the continents and mountains. Parīkṣit inquires about the dimensions of the islands and oceans which he heard about in the story of Priyavrata, after that topic was completed in SB 5.1.30. The breadth of Bhū-maṇòala extends as far as the sun shines and within it the moon and other luminaries are seen.