A Description of Jambudvipa

Verse 1 (bhagavata.5.16.1)

राजोवाच उक्तस्त्वया भूमण्डलायामविशेषो यावदादित्यस्तपति यत्र चासौ ज्योतिषां गणैश्चन्द्रमा वा सह दृश्यते ॥ १ ॥

rājovāca uktas tvayā bhū-maṇḍalāyāma-viśeṣo yāvad ādityas tapati yatra cāsau jyotiṣāṁ gaṇaiś candramā vā saha dṛśyate.

The king said: You have told me the general extent of Bhu-mandala — that it reaches as far as the sun gives its heat, and as far as it, together with the host of stars and the moon, can be seen.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.5.16.2)

तत्रापि प्रियव्रतरथचरणपरिखातैः सप्तभिः सप्त सिन्धव उपक्लृप्ता यत एतस्याः सप्तद्वीपविशेषविकल्पस्त्वया भगवन् खलु सूचित एतदेवाखिलमहं मानतो लक्षणतश्च सर्वं विजिज्ञासामि ॥ २ ॥

tatrāpi priyavrata-ratha-caraṇa-parikhātaiḥ saptabhiḥ sapta sindhava upakḷptā yata etasyāḥ sapta-dvīpa-viśeṣa-vikalpas tvayā bhagavan khalu sūcita etad evākhilam ahaṁ mānato lakṣaṇataś ca sarvaṁ vi-jijñāsāmi.

There too, by the seven ruts left by the wheels of Priyavrata's chariot, the seven oceans came to be established, giving rise to that particular division into seven islands — this much, O lord, you have already indicated to me in brief. Now I wish to know the whole of it in full, both its measurements and its distinguishing features.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.5.16.3)

भगवतो गुणमये स्थूलरूप आवेशितं मनो ह्यगुणेऽपि सूक्ष्मतम आत्मज्योतिषि परे ब्रह्मणि भगवति वासुदेवाख्ये क्षममावेशितुं तदु हैतद् गुरोऽर्हस्यनुवर्णयितुमिति ॥ ३ ॥

bhagavato guṇamaye sthūla-rūpa āveśitaṁ mano hy aguṇe ’pi sūkṣmatama ātma-jyotiṣi pare brahmaṇi bhagavati vāsudevākhye kṣamam āveśituṁ tad u haitad guro ’rhasy anuvarṇayitum iti.

When the mind, though at first fixed upon the Lord's gross form made of the material qualities, becomes fit, through that very practice, to be fixed even upon that supreme Brahman beyond the qualities — the subtlest of the subtle, the self-luminous Bhagavan known as Vasudeva — then, O teacher, it is fitting indeed that you fully describe this gross form to me.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.5.16.4)

ऋषिरुवाच न वै महाराज भगवतो मायागुणविभूतेः काष्ठां मनसा वचसा वाधिगन्तुमलं विबुधायुषापि पुरुषस्तस्मात्प्राधान्येनैव भूगोलकविशेषं नामरूप मानलक्षणतो व्याख्यास्यामः ॥ ४ ॥

ṛṣir uvāca na vai mahārāja bhagavato māyā-guṇa-vibhūteḥ kāṣṭhāṁ manasā vacasā vādhigantum alaṁ vibudhāyuṣāpi puruṣas tasmāt prādhān-yenaiva bhū-golaka-viśeṣaṁ nāma-rūpa-māna-lakṣaṇato vyākhyāsyāmaḥ.

The rishi said: O great king, no one — not even with a lifespan as long as Brahma's — is able, by mind or by speech, to reach the very limit of the manifestations of the Lord's material potency. I shall therefore explain, in their principal features only, this globe of the earth — its names, forms, measurements and distinguishing marks.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.5.16.5)

यो वायं द्वीपः कुवलयकमलकोशाभ्यन्तरकोशो नियुतयोजन विशालः समवर्तुलो यथा पुष्करपत्रम् ॥ ५ ॥

yo vāyaṁ dvīpaḥ kuvalaya-kamala-kośābhyantara-kośo niyuta-yojana-viśālaḥ samavartulo yathā puṣkara-patram.

This island, Jambudvipa, forms the innermost whorl within the outer cup of the water-lily and lotus that is Bhu-mandala; it measures a million yojanas across and is perfectly round, like the leaf of a lotus.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.5.16.6)

यस्मिन्नव वर्षाणि नवयोजनसहस्रायामान्यष्टभिर्मर्यादागिरिभिः सुविभक्तानि भवन्ति ॥ ६ ॥

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

Within it there are nine regions, each nine thousand yojanas across, neatly divided from one another by eight boundary mountains.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.5.16.7)

एषां मध्ये इलावृतं नामाभ्यन्तरवर्षं यस्य नाभ्यामवस्थितः सर्वतः सौवर्णः कुलगिरिराजो मेरुर्द्वीपायामसमुन्नाहः कर्णिकाभूतः कुवलयकमलस्य मूर्धनि द्वात्रिंशत् सहस्रयोजनविततो मूले षोडशसहस्रं तावतान्तर्भूम्यां प्रविष्टः ॥ ७ ॥

eṣāṁ madhye ilāvṛtaṁ nāmābhyantara-varṣaṁ yasya nābhyām avasthitaḥ sarvataḥ sauvarṇaḥ kula-giri-rājo merur dvīpāyāma-samunnāhaḥ karṇikā-bhūtaḥ kuvalaya-kamalasya mūrdhani dvā-triṁśat sahasra-yojana-vitato mūle ṣoḍaśa-sahasraṁ tāvat āntar-bhūmyāṁ praviṣṭaḥ.

In the midst of these lies the innermost region called Ilavrita, at whose very navel stands the golden king of mountains, Meru, whose height equals the full breadth of the island — Meru forming, as it were, the very pericarp of the lotus that is Bhu-mandala's whorl. At its summit it measures thirty-two thousand yojanas across, and at its base sixteen thousand — that much of it lying sunk within the earth.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.5.16.8)

उत्तरोत्तरेणेलावृतं नीलः श्वेतः शृङ्गवानिति त्रयो रम्यकहिरण्मयकुरूणां वर्षाणां मर्यादागिरयः प्रागायता उभयतः क्षारोदावधयो द्विसहस्रपृथव एकैकशः पूर्वस्मात्पूर्वस्मादुत्तर उत्तरो दशांशाधिकांशेन दैर्घ्य एव ह्रसन्ति ॥ ८ ॥

uttarottareṇelāvṛtaṁ nīlaḥ śvetaḥ śṛṅgavān iti trayo ramyaka-hiraṇmaya-kurūṇāṁ varṣāṇāṁ maryādā-girayaḥ prāg-āyatā ubhayataḥ kṣārodāvadhayo dvi-sahasra-pṛthava ekaikaśaḥ pūrvasmāt pūrvasmād uttara uttaro daśāṁśādhikāṁśena dairghya eva hrasanti.

North of Ilavrita, going ever further north, lie three mountains — Nila, Shveta and Shringavan — the boundary mountains of the regions Ramyaka, Hiranmaya and Kuru, stretching east to west and bounded at both ends by the salt ocean, each two thousand yojanas in width; and each, going northward, is shorter in length than the one before it by a further tenth.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.5.16.9)

एवं दक्षिणेनेलावृतं निषधो हेमकूटो हिमालय इति प्रागायता यथा नीलादयोऽयुतयोजनोत्सेधा हरिवर्षकिम्पुरुषभारतानां यथासङ्ख्यम् ॥ ९ ॥

evaṁ dakṣiṇenelāvṛtaṁ niṣadho hemakūṭo himālaya iti prāg-āyatā yathā nīlādayo ’yuta-yojanotsedhā hari-varṣa-kimpuruṣa-bhāratānāṁ yathā-saṅkhyam.

Likewise, south of Ilavrita, going further south, extending east to west just as Nila and the others do, are the mountains Nishadha, Hemakuta and Himalaya, each ten thousand yojanas in height, marking in turn the boundaries of Harivarsha, Kimpurusha-varsha and Bharata-varsha.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.5.16.10)

तथैवेलावृतमपरेण पूर्वेण च माल्यवद्गन्धमादनावानीलनिषधायतौ द्विसहस्रं पप्रथतुः केतुमालभद्राश्वयोः सीमानं विदधाते ॥ १० ॥

tathaivelāvṛtam apareṇa pūrveṇa ca mālyavad-gandhamādanāv ānīla-niṣadhāyatau dvi-sahasraṁ paprathatuḥ ketumāla-bhadrāśvayoḥ sīmānaṁ vidadhāte.

Likewise, to the west and east of Ilavrita stand Malyavan and Gandhamadana, each two thousand yojanas wide, stretching to meet Nila in the north and Nishadha in the south; these mark the boundaries of the regions Ketumala and Bhadrashva.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.5.16.11)

मन्दरो मेरुमन्दरः सुपार्श्वः कुमुद इत्ययुतयोजनविस्तारोन्नाहा मेरोश्चतुर्दिशमवष्टम्भगिरय उपक्लृप्ताः ॥ ११ ॥

mandaro merumandaraḥ supārśvaḥ kumuda ity ayuta-yojana-vistāronnāhā meroś catur-diśam avaṣṭambha-giraya upakḷptāḥ.

Mandara, Merumandara, Suparshva and Kumuda — these, each ten thousand yojanas in width and height, stand established as four supporting mountains on the four sides of Meru.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.5.16.12)

चतुर्ष्वेतेषु चूतजम्बूकदम्बन्यग्रोधाश्चत्वारः पादप प्रवराः पर्वतकेतव इवाधिसहस्रयोजनोन्नाहास्तावद् विटपविततयः शतयोजनपरिणाहाः ॥ १२ ॥

caturṣv eteṣu cūta-jambū-kadamba-nyagrodhāś catvāraḥ pādapa-pravarāḥ parvata-ketava ivādhi-sahasra-yojanonnāhās tāvad viṭapa-vitatayaḥ śata-yojana-pariṇāhāḥ.

On these four mountains stand, like banners planted upon them, four foremost trees — a mango, a rose-apple, a kadamba and a banyan — each eleven hundred yojanas in height, their spreading branches reaching that same distance outward, and a hundred yojanas around in girth.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.5.16.13)

ह्रदाश्चत्वारः पयोमध्विक्षुरसमृष्टजला यदुपस्पर्शिन उपदेवगणा योगैश्वर्याणि स्वाभाविकानि भरतर्षभ धारयन्ति ॥ १३ ॥

hradāś catvāraḥ payo-madhv-ikṣurasa-mṛṣṭa-jalā yad-upasparśina upadeva-gaṇā yogaiśvaryāṇi svābhāvikāni bharatarṣabha dhārayanti.

O best of the Bharata line, between these four mountains lie four great lakes, their waters mingled with milk, honey and sugarcane juice, by whose use the minor celestials come to possess their own natural mystic perfections.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.5.16.14)

देवोद्यानानि च भवन्ति चत्वारि नन्दनं चैत्ररथं वैभ्राजकं सर्वतोभद्रमिति ॥ १४ ॥

devodyānāni ca bhavanti catvāri nandanaṁ caitrarathaṁ vaibhrājakaṁ sarvatobhadram iti.

And there are also four celestial gardens — Nandana, Chaitraratha, Vaibhrajaka and Sarvatobhadra.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.5.16.15)

येष्वमर परिवृढाः सह सुरललनाललामयूथपतय उपदेवगणैरुपगीयमानमहिमानः किल विहरन्ति ॥ १५ ॥

yeṣv amara-parivṛḍhāḥ saha sura-lalanā-lalāma-yūtha-pataya upadeva-gaṇair upagīyamāna-mahimānaḥ kila viharanti.

In these gardens the foremost among the immortals, together with troops of heavenly maidens as lovely as living ornaments, take their pleasure freely, their glory sung all the while by the hosts of minor celestials.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.5.16.16)

मन्दरोत्सङ्ग एकादशशतयोजनोत्तुङ्गदेवचूतशिरसो गिरिशिखरस्थूलानि फलान्यमृतकल्पानि पतन्ति ॥ १६ ॥

mandarotsaṅga ekādaśa-śata-yojanottuṅga-devacūta-śiraso giri-śikhara-sthūlāni phalāny amṛta-kalpāni patanti.

On the slope of Mount Mandara stands the mango tree called Devachuta, eleven hundred yojanas tall, from whose crown fall fruits as huge as mountain peaks and as sweet as nectar.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.5.16.17)

तेषां विशीर्यमाणानामतिमधुरसुरभिसुगन्धि बहुलारुणरसोदेनारुणोदा नाम नदी मन्दरगिरिशिखरान्निपतन्ती पूर्वेणेलावृतमुपप्लावयति ॥ १७ ॥

teṣāṁ viśīryamāṇānām ati-madhura-surabhi-sugandhi-bahulāruṇa-rasodenāruṇodā nāma nadī mandara-giri-śikharān nipatantī pūrveṇelāvṛtam upaplāvayati.

As these fruits burst apart, their exceedingly sweet and fragrant, abundant reddish juice, cascading down from the peak of Mount Mandara, forms the river named Arunoda, which floods the whole of Ilavrita along its eastern side.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.5.16.18)

यदुपजोषणाद्भवान्या अनुचरीणां पुण्यजनवधूनामवयवस्पर्शसुगन्धवातो दशयोजनं समन्तादनुवासयति ॥ १८ ॥

yad-upajoṣaṇād bhavānyā anucarīṇāṁ puṇya-jana-vadhūnām avayava-sparśa-sugandha-vāto daśa-yojanaṁ samantād anuvāsayati.

By drinking of that river, the wind carrying the fragrance from the very limbs of the Yaksha-wives who attend upon Devi Bhavani perfumes the whole region around for ten yojanas.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.5.16.19)

एवं जम्बूफलानामत्युच्चनिपातविशीर्णानामनस्थिप्रायाणामिभकायनिभानां रसेन जम्बू नाम नदी मेरुमन्दरशिखरादयुतयोजनादवनितले निपतन्ती दक्षिणेनात्मानं यावदिलावृतमुपस्यन्दयति ॥ १९ ॥

evaṁ jambū-phalānām atyucca-nipāta-viśīrṇānām anasthi-prāyāṇām ibha-kāya-nibhānāṁ rasena jambū nāma nadī meru-mandara-śikharād ayuta-yojanād avani-tale nipatantī dakṣiṇenātmānaṁ yāvad ilāvṛtam upasyandayati.

Likewise, the fruits of the rose-apple tree, almost seedless and the size of an elephant's body, shatter as they fall from that immense height, and their juice becomes the river named Jambu; falling a full ten thousand yojanas from the peak of Merumandara to the surface of the earth, it flows along the southern side to moisten Ilavrita itself.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.5.16.20)

तावदुभयोरपि रोधसोर्या मृत्तिका तद्रसेनानुविध्यमाना वाय्वर्कसंयोगविपाकेन सदामरलोकाभरणं जाम्बूनदं नाम सुवर्णं भवति ॥ २० ॥

tāvad ubhayor api rodhasor yā mṛttikā tad-rasenānuvidhyamānā vāyv-arka-saṁyoga-vipākena sadāmara-lokābharaṇaṁ jāmbū-nadaṁ nāma suvarṇaṁ bhavati.

The mud that lies along both banks of that river, thoroughly saturated with its juice and then ripened by the combined action of wind and sun, turns into the gold called Jambunada — the everlasting ornament of the world of the immortals.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.5.16.21)

यदु ह वाव विबुधादयः सह युवतिभिर्मुकुटकटककटिसूत्राद्याभरणरूपेण खलु धारयन्ति ॥ २१ ॥

yad u ha vāva vibudhādayaḥ saha yuvatibhir mukuṭa-kaṭaka-kaṭi-sūtrādy-ābharaṇa-rūpeṇa khalu dhārayanti.

This is the very gold which the celestial beings, together with their youthful wives, wear fashioned into crowns, bracelets, waist-belts and other such ornaments.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.5.16.22)

यस्तु महाकदम्बः सुपार्श्वनिरूढो यास्तस्य कोटरेभ्यो विनिःसृताः पञ्चायामपरिणाहाः पञ्च मधुधाराः सुपार्श्वशिखरात्पतन्त्योऽपरेणात्मानमिलावृतमनुमोदयन्ति ॥ २२ ॥

yas tu mahā-kadambaḥ supārśva-nirūḍho yās tasya koṭarebhyo viniḥsṛtāḥ pañcāyāma-pariṇāhāḥ pañca madhu-dhārāḥ supārśva-śikharāt patantyo ’pareṇātmānam ilāvṛtam anumodayanti.

And there stands the great kadamba tree, rooted firmly on Mount Suparshva, from whose hollows issue five streams of honey, each five armspans wide, cascading down from the peak of Suparshva and delighting the whole of Ilavrita from its western side onward.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.5.16.23)

या ह्युपयुञ्जानानां मुखनिर्वासितो वायुः समन्ताच्छतयोजनमनुवासयति ॥ २३ ॥

yā hy upayuñjānānāṁ mukha-nirvāsito vāyuḥ samantāc chata-yojanam anuvāsayati.

And the breeze carried from the very mouths of those who drink of that honey perfumes the whole surrounding region for a hundred yojanas.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.5.16.24)

एवं कुमुदनिरूढो यः शतवल्शो नाम वटस्तस्य स्कन्धेभ्यो नीचीनाः पयोदधिमधुघृतगुडान्नाद्यम्बरशय्यासनाभरणादयः सर्व एव कामदुघा नदाः कुमुदाग्रात्पतन्तस्तमुत्तरेणेलावृतमुपयोजयन्ति ॥ २४ ॥

evaṁ kumuda-nirūḍho yaḥ śatavalśo nāma vaṭas tasya skandhebhyo nīcīnāḥ payo-dadhi-madhu-ghṛta-guḍānnādy-ambara-śayyāsanābharaṇādayaḥ sarva eva kāma-dughā nadāḥ kumudāgrāt patantas tam uttareṇelāvṛtam upayojayanti.

Likewise, on Mount Kumuda stands the banyan tree named Shatavalsha, the hundred-branched, from whose hanging boughs flow rivers of every kind — of milk, curds, honey, ghee, molasses, grain, cloth, bedding, seats, ornaments and all else one could wish for — cascading down from the summit of Kumuda to serve the northern part of Ilavrita.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.5.16.25)

यानुपजुषाणानां न कदाचिदपि प्रजानां वलीपलितक्लमस्वेददौर्गन्ध्यजरामयमृत्युशीतोष्णवैवर्ण्योपसर्गादयस्तापविशेषा भवन्ति यावज्जीवं सुखं निरतिशयमेव ॥ २५ ॥

yān upajuṣāṇānāṁ na kadācid api prajānāṁ valī-palita-klama-sveda-daurgandhya-jarāmaya-mṛtyu-śītoṣṇa-vaivarṇyopasargādayas tāpa-viśeṣā bhavanti yāvaj jīvaṁ sukhaṁ niratiśayam eva.

For the people who partake of all this, wrinkles, grey hair, fatigue, sweat, foul odor, old age, disease, death, cold, heat, discoloration and every such particular affliction never arise at all; throughout their whole life they know nothing but unsurpassed happiness.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.5.16.26)

कुरङ्गकुररकुसुम्भवैकङ्कत्रिकूटशिशिरपतङ्गरुचकनिषधशिनीवासकपिलशङ्खवैदूर्यजारुधिहंसऋषभनागकालञ्जरनारदादयो विंशतिगिरयो मेरोः कर्णिकाया इव केसरभूता मूलदेशे परित उपक्लृप्ताः ॥ २६ ॥

kuraṅga-kurara-kusumbha-vaikaṅka-trikūṭa-śiśira-pataṅga-rucaka-niṣadha-śinīvāsa-kapila-śaṅkha-vaidūrya-jārudhi-haṁsa-ṛṣabha-nāga-kālañjara-nāradādayo viṁśati-girayo meroḥ karṇikāyā iva kesara-bhūtā mūla-deśe parita upakḷptāḥ.

Kuranga, Kurara, Kusumbha, Vaikanka, Trikuta, Shishira, Patanga, Rucaka, Nishadha, Shinivasa, Kapila, Shankha, Vaidurya, Jarudhi, Hamsa, Rishabha, Naga, Kalanjara, Narada, and the rest — twenty mountains in all — stand arranged all around the base of Meru, like the filaments encircling the pericarp of a lotus.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.5.16.27)

जठरदेवकूटौ मेरुं पूर्वेणाष्टादशयोजनसहस्रमुदगायतौ द्विसहस्रं पृथुतुङ्गौ भवतः । एवमपरेण पवनपारियात्रौ दक्षिणेन कैलासकरवीरौ प्रागायतावेवमुत्तरतस्त्रिशृङ्गमकरावष्टभिरेतैः परिसृतोऽग्निरिव परितश्चकास्ति काञ्चनगिरिः ॥ २७ ॥

jaṭhara-devakūṭau meruṁ pūrveṇāṣṭādaśa-yojana-sahasram udagāyatau dvi-sahasraṁ pṛthu-tuṅgau bhavataḥ; evam apareṇa pavana-pāriyātrau dakṣiṇena kailāsa-karavīrau prāg-āyatāv evam uttaratas triśṛṅga-makarāv aṣṭabhir etaiḥ parisṛto ’gnir iva paritaś cakāsti kāñcana-giriḥ.

Jathara and Devakuta, stretched along a north-south line, stand to the east of Meru, eighteen thousand yojanas apart, each two thousand yojanas in width and height. Likewise, to the west stand Pavana and Pariyatra; to the south, Kailasa and Karavira, stretched east-west; and likewise, to the north, Trishringa and Makara. Ringed all about by these eight, the golden mountain Meru shines on every side like a mass of fire.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.5.16.28)

मेरोर्मूर्धनि भगवत आत्मयोनेर्मध्यत उपक्लृप्तां पुरीमयुतयोजनसाहस्रीं समचतुरस्रां शातकौम्भीं वदन्ति ॥ २८ ॥

meror mūrdhani bhagavata ātma-yoner madhyata upakḷptāṁ purīm ayuta-yojana-sāhasrīṁ sama-caturasrāṁ śātakaumbhīṁ vadanti.

On the summit of Meru, at its very center, they say there stands the city of Bhagavan the Self-Born, ten thousand yojanas on each side, made entirely of gold.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.5.16.29)

तामनुपरितो लोकपालानामष्टानां यथादिशं यथारूपं तुरीयमानेन पुरोऽष्टावुपक्लृप्ताः ॥ २९ ॥

tām anuparito loka-pālānām aṣṭānāṁ yathā-diśaṁ yathā-rūpaṁ turīya-mānena puro ’ṣṭāv upakḷptāḥ.

All around it stand the eight cities of the guardians of the directions, each set out according to its own direction and its own likeness, and each just one-fourth the measure of Brahma's own city.