Jambudvipa and the Varshas

Sanatkumara said

Son of Parashara, listen. I will briefly tell of the earth's globe with its seven dvipas: Jambu, Plaksha, Shalmali, Kusha, Krouncha and Pushkara as the seventh, as the text lists them (Shaka, described later in the text, is not named in this list). These seven are surrounded by seven oceans of salt water, sugarcane juice, liquor, ghee, curd, milk and water. Jambudvipa lies in the middle of all this. Kaleya, the golden mountain Meru stands at the very centre. It goes down sixteen thousand yojanas and rises eighty-four thousand, with a top thirty-two thousand across. The mountain rests on the earth and extends on all sides, its base sixteen thousand yojanas, so it stands like the pericarp of a lotus. The mountains Himalaya, Hemakuta and Nishadha lie to the south, and Nila, Shveta and Shringi are varsha mountains to the north. Each of these mountains is ten thousand yojanas long, full of jewels and reddish, a thousand yojanas high and broad. Bharata is the first varsha and Kimpurusha the next. Another, Harivarsha, is south of Meru. Ramyaka is north, with Hiranmaya next to it. Uttarakuru is to the north and is like Bharata. Each of these extends nine thousand yojanas. Ilavrita is in the centre and the golden mountain Meru rises at its centre. In four directions around Meru are mountains nine thousand yojanas high, set like supporting beams and rising joined to Meru. The eastern one is Mandara, the southern Gandhamadana, the one on the western flank Vipula and the northern one Suparshva. On these mountains a kadamba tree, a jambu tree, a pippala tree and a banyan rise like standards. Each of these mountains extends eleven hundred yojanas. Great sage, hear why Jambudvipa has that name. There are large, radiant trees, and I will describe them. The fruit of the jambu tree is as large as a huge elephant. It falls from the summit to the ground in all directions and bursts. The flow of its juice is called the river Jambu and the people in every direction drink it. People living along the banks do not sweat or smell bad, and do not suffer age or decay of the senses. The mud on the banks is dried by the pleasant wind and becomes the gold called jambunada, used to make ornaments for siddhas. Bhadrashva is east of Meru and Ketumala west. Best of sages, Ilavrita lies between them. In the east is the forest Chaitraratha, in the south Gandhamadana, in the west Vaibhraja and in the north Nandana. There are four lakes always said to be enjoyed by the gods: Arunodaya, Mahabhadra, Shitoda and Manasa. The mountains Shitanjana, Kurunga, Kurari and Malyavan are like filaments on Meru's eastern flank, each important. The mountains Trikuta, Shishira, Patanga, Ruchaka, Nishadha, Kapila and others are like filaments in the south. Sinivasa, Kusumbha, Kapila, Narada, Naga and so on are like filaments on the west. The mountains Shankhachuda, Rishabha, Hamsa, Kalanjara and others are like filaments in the north. Brahma's city, Shatakumbha, is on Meru's summit, fourteen thousand yojanas across. All around it, in the eight directions, are the cities of the guardians of the worlds, by their directions and forms. The river Ganga, coming from Vishnu's feet and flooding the lunar disc, descends and flows all around Brahma's city. Having descended there it flows in four directions, in order Sita, Alakananda, Chakshu and Bhadra. Sita flows east of the mountain and Alakananda south, Chakshu flows east and Bhadra north, as the text gives it, and Ganga has three flows. Having crossed the mountains it flows in the four directions and reaches the great ocean. Malyavan and Gandhamadana extend up to the mountains Nila and Nishadha, with Meru between, shaped like a pericarp. Bharata, Ketumala, Bhadrashva and Kuru are like petals of the mountain of the world. Some mountains form the boundaries: Jathara and Devakuta are the two that form a boundary from south to north, and Gandhamadana and Kailasa stretch from east to west. Nila and Nishadha extend to the east and west of Meru, to the south and north, inside the pericarp. Along Meru's belly, in four directions, are mountains, two in each direction, Shveta and others, like filaments. North of the mountains are valleys frequented by siddhas and charanas, where groves and cities are very beautiful and belong to all the gods, gandharvas, yakshas and rakshasas. Night and day the gods and daityas sport in those mountains. These regions are described as heaven on earth, the homes of those devoted to dharma, and the doers of wicked deeds can never see them. Great sage, in the eight varshas beginning with Kimpurusha there is no sorrow, calamity, anxiety, hunger or fear. The people are healthy and fear nothing. They do not suffer any sorrow. Their lifespans are fixed at ten or twelve thousand years. There is no notion of krita, treta or the other yugas in these regions, and they are made so that the divinity does not rain earthly showers there. In each of these varshas seven rivers flow well, with golden sands, and there are hundreds of smaller rivers where people play.