Chapter 47 - Bhārata sub-continent (bharatavarṣa)

Sūta Said:

1. King Priyavrata crowned his eldest son Āgnīdhra who was the eldest inheritor and who was a loveable son of great strength, as the king of Jambūdvīpa.^[1]

2. O leading brahmins, he was an ascetic and a great devotee of Śiva. He was a young man engaged in the worship of Śiva. He was prosperous and intelligent and he possessed many cows.

3. He had nine sons at par with Prajāpatis. All of them were followers of Maheśvara and devoted to Mahādeva.

4. His eldest son was known as Nābhi. Kimpuruṣa was his (Nābhi’s) younger brother. The third son was Harivarṣa. The fourth son was Ilāvṛta.

5. Ramya was the fifth; the sixth was Hiraṇmān. Kuru was the seventh. Bhadrāśva was the eighth.

6. The ninth was Ketumāla. Understand their lands now. The subcontinent of Nābhi inherited from his father is called Hema which lies in the south.

7. He gave Kimpuruṣa the subcontinent Hemakūṭa. He gave the subcontinent called Naiṣadha to Hari.

8. To Ilāvṛta he gave the midlands encircling the mountain Meru. He gave Ramya the subcontinent around Nīlācala.

9. The subcontinent Śveta to the north of it was given to Hiraṇmān. He gave Kuru the subcontinent Śṛṅga Varṣa which is to the north of it.

10. He gave the subcontinent round about Mālyavān to Bhadrāśva. He gave Gandhamādana to Ketumāla.

11-12. These are the nine great subcontinents in brief. After crowning his sons as the kings in those subcontinents, Āgnīdhra^[2] the virtuous became engaged in penance. After purifying himself by penance he became engaged in the study of the Vedas.

13-15. After being engaged in the study of the Vedas he became engaged in meditation on Śiva. There is natural perfection in all the eight excellent subcontinents beginning with Kimpuruṣa. Without any strain the subjects are always happy. The opposite of joy is not seen in them. They have no fear from death or old age. They have neither Dharma nor Adharma. There is no distinction such as the excellent, the middling and the base. In all these eight subcontinents there are no subdivisions of yugas.

16. Those who die in a holy centre of Rudra whether mobile or immobile whether devotees or casual visitors are reborn there.

17. For their benefit eight holy centres were created by Rudra. In all those places Mahādeva was always present.

18. By seeing Mahādeva in their hearts the residents of the eight holy centres were always happy. He alone was the greatest goal unto them all.

19-20. I shall now recount the country of Nābhi marked by ‘hima’ (snow; i.e. Bhāratavarṣa as mentioned below). The intelligent Nābhi begot a son of Merudevī, Ṛṣabha by name who was a great king adored by all kṣatriyas. A heroic son Bharata was born to Ṛṣabha. He was the eldest among his hundred sons.

21-25. Ṛṣabha who was fond of his son Bharata crowned him as king. By adopting the path of knowledge and detachment he conquered the serpents of his sense-organs; by all means he stabilised Īśvara, the supreme Ātman, within his own heart; he was immersed in devout feelings; he observed fasts; he wore bark garments and matted hair. He retired into darkness (i.e. solitary place). Devoid of all desires and his doubts all cleared, (in the end) he attained the great region, of Śiva. He gave the subcontinent to the south of the mountain Himavat to Bharata. Hence learned men call that subcontinent as Bharata Varṣa^[3] after his name. Bharata’s son was the virtuous Sumati. Bharata entrusted the kingdom to his care. After transferring the royal glory to his son the king entered the forest for penance.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

For detail. Ibid. p. 64 ff.

[2]:

According to Liṅga, Āgnīdhra was the eldest son of Priyavrata. But according to a Vāyu version he was the son of Priyavrata’s daughter.

[3]:

Bhārata. Liṅga ascribes the origin of the name to King Bharata, the eldest of the hundred sons of Ṛṣabha and grandson of Nābhi. Cf. Vāyu 33.51-52; Mārka 53.39-40. For detail see Bhāga 11.2.15-17 and Skandapurāṇa I.11.37. 55-57. But according to Matsya 114.5.6, Bharata is the name of Manu himself who creates and supports: the people here, For further detail, see Avasthi: Studies in Skandapurāṇa, pp. 17-23. Formerly Bhārata was known as Himavarṣa or Haimavata Varṣa.