The Varshas of Kimpurusha, Hari, Ilavrta and Others

Verse 1 (markandeya.60.1)

मार्कण्डेय उवाच यत्तु किम्पुरुषं वर्षं तत् प्रवक्ष्याम्यहं द्विज । यत्रायुर्दशसाहस्त्रं पुरुषाणां वपुष्मताम् ॥ 60.1 ॥

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca yattu kimpuruṣaṁ varṣaṁ tat pravakṣyāmyahaṁ dvija yatrāyurdaśasāhastraṁ puruṣāṇāṁ vapuṣmatām

Markandeya said: Now, O brahmana, I shall tell of the region Kimpurusha, where the lifespan of well-formed men is ten thousand years.

Verse 2 (markandeya.60.2)

अनामया ह्यशोकाश्च नरा यत्र तथा स्त्रियः । प्लक्षः षण्डश्च तत्रोक्तः सुमहान्नन्दनोपमः ॥ 60.2 ॥

anāmayā hyaśokāśca narā yatra tathā striyaḥ plakṣaḥ ṣaṇḍaśca tatroktaḥ sumahānnandanopamaḥ

There the men, and likewise the women, are free from disease and free from sorrow. There stands the Plaksha tree, said to be vast, comparable to the garden of Nandana.

Verse 3 (markandeya.60.3)

तस्य ते वै फलरसं पिबन्तः पुरुषाः सदा । स्थिरयौवननिष्पन्नाः स्त्रियश्चोत्पलगन्धिकाः ॥ 60.3 ॥

tasya te vai phalarasaṁ pibantaḥ puruṣāḥ sadā sthirayauvananiṣpannāḥ striyaścotpalagandhikāḥ

Ever drinking the juice of its fruit, the men there remain established in unfading youth, and the women are fragrant as the blue lotus.

Verse 4 (markandeya.60.4)

अतः परं किंपुरुषाद्धरिवर्षं प्रचक्ष्यते । महारजतसङ्काशा जायन्ते तत्र मानवाः ॥ 60.4 ॥

ataḥ paraṁ kiṁpuruṣāddharivarṣaṁ pracakṣyate mahārajatasaṅkāśā jāyante tatra mānavāḥ

Beyond this, past Kimpurusha, is the region called Harivarsha. Men born there shine like great silver.

Verse 5 (markandeya.60.5)

देवलोकच्युताः सर्वे देवरूपाश्च सर्वशः । हरिवर्षे नराः सर्वे पिबन्तीक्षुरसं शुभम् ॥ 60.5 ॥

devalokacyutāḥ sarve devarūpāśca sarvaśaḥ harivarṣe narāḥ sarve pibantīkṣurasaṁ śubham

All of them, fallen from the world of the gods, are born there, and in every way bear the form of gods. In Harivarsha, all the men drink the auspicious juice of sugarcane.

Verse 6 (markandeya.60.6)

न जरा बाधते तत्र न जीर्यन्ते च कर्हिचित् । तावन्तमेव ते कालं जीवन्त्यथ निरामयाः ॥ 60.6 ॥

na jarā bādhate tatra na jīryante ca karhicit tāvantameva te kālaṁ jīvantyatha nirāmayāḥ

Old age does not afflict them there, and they never decay; they live out that same span of time, remaining free from disease.

Verse 7 (markandeya.60.7)

मेरुवर्षं मया प्रोक्तं मध्यमं यदिलावृतम् । न तत्र सूर्यस्तपति न ते जीर्यन्ति मानवाः ॥ 60.7 ॥

meruvarṣaṁ mayā proktaṁ madhyamaṁ yadilāvṛtam na tatra sūryastapati na te jīryanti mānavāḥ

I have already spoken of the region of Meru, the central land called Ilavrita. There the sun does not scorch, and the men there do not grow old.

Verse 8 (markandeya.60.8)

लभन्ते नात्मलाभञ्च रश्मयश्चन्द्रसूर्ययोः । नक्षत्राणां ग्रहाणाञ्च मेरोस्तत्र परा द्युतिः ॥ 60.8 ॥

labhante nātmalābhañca raśmayaścandrasūryayoḥ nakṣatrāṇāṁ grahāṇāñca merostatra parā dyutiḥ

There the rays of the moon and sun, and likewise those of the nakshatras and planets, do not attain their own full radiance, for it is the surpassing splendor of Meru that reigns there.

Verse 9 (markandeya.60.9)

पद्मप्रभाः पद्मगन्धा जम्बूफलरसाशिनः । पद्मपत्रायताक्षास्तु जायन्ते तत्र मानवाः ॥ 60.9 ॥

padmaprabhāḥ padmagandhā jambūphalarasāśinaḥ padmapatrāyatākṣāstu jāyante tatra mānavāḥ

Men born there have the radiance of the lotus and the fragrance of the lotus; they feed upon the juice of the jambu fruit, and their eyes are long as lotus petals.

Verse 10 (markandeya.60.10)

वर्षाणान्तु सहस्राणि तत्राप्यायुस्त्रयोदश । सरावाकारसंस्तारो मेरुमध्ये इलावृते ॥ 60.10 ॥

varṣāṇāntu sahasrāṇi tatrāpyāyustrayodaśa sarāvākārasaṁstāro merumadhye ilāvṛte

There too the lifespan is thirteen thousand years. In the midst of Meru, in Ilavrita, the land lies spread out shaped like the rim of a bowl.

Verse 11 (markandeya.60.11)

मेरुस्तत्र महाशैलस्तदाख्यातमिलावृतम् । रम्यकं वर्षमस्माच्च कथयिष्ये निबोध तत् ॥ 60.11 ॥

merustatra mahāśailastadākhyātamilāvṛtam ramyakaṁ varṣamasmācca kathayiṣye nibodha tat

There stands the great mountain Meru; that region is called Ilavrita. Now I shall tell of the region Ramyaka lying beyond it; hear of it.

Verse 12 (markandeya.60.12)

वृक्षस्तत्रापि चोत्तुङ्गो न्यग्रोधो हरितच्छदः । तस्यापि ते फलरसं पिबन्तो वर्तयन्ति वै ॥ 60.12 ॥

vṛkṣastatrāpi cottuṅgo nyagrodho haritacchadaḥ tasyāpi te phalarasaṁ pibanto vartayanti vai

There too stands a lofty banyan tree with green foliage; drinking the juice of its fruit, the people there sustain their lives.

Verse 13 (markandeya.60.13)

वर्षायुतायुषस्तत्र नरास्तत्फलभोगिनः । रतिप्रधानविमला जरादौर्गन्ध्यवर्जिताः ॥ 60.13 ॥

varṣāyutāyuṣastatra narāstatphalabhoginaḥ ratipradhānavimalā jarādaurgandhyavarjitāḥ

The men there, feeding upon that fruit, live for ten thousand years; devoted chiefly to love, pure, and free from the foulness of old age.

Verse 14 (markandeya.60.14)

तस्मादथोत्तरं वर्षं नाम्ना ख्यातं हिरण्मयम् । हिरण्वती नदी यत्र प्रभूतकमलोज्ज्वला ॥ 60.14 ॥

tasmādathottaraṁ varṣaṁ nāmnā khyātaṁ hiraṇmayam hiraṇvatī nadī yatra prabhūtakamalojjvalā

Beyond this, to the north, lies the region known by the name Hiranmaya, where the river Hiranvati flows, bright with abundant lotuses.

Verse 15 (markandeya.60.15)

महाबलाः सतेजस्का जायन्ते तत्र मानवाः । महाकाया महासत्त्वा धनिनः प्रियदर्शनाः ॥ 60.15 ॥

mahābalāḥ satejaskā jāyante tatra mānavāḥ mahākāyā mahāsattvā dhaninaḥ priyadarśanāḥ

Men born there are possessed of great strength and full of splendor; of vast stature, of great vigor, wealthy, and pleasant to behold.