Chapter 118 - The country of Bhārata (bhāratavarṣa)

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Fire-god said:

1. That country which (lies) to the north of ocean and south of Himādri (Himālaya) is known as the Bhāratavarṣa extending to nine thousand (yojanas).

2-4. This is a land of religious rites. It gives accomplishment of action in getting redemption. Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Śuktimat, Hemaparvata, Vindhya and Pāriyātra are the seven principal mountains here. Indradvīpa, Kaseru, Tāmravarṇa, Gabhastimān, Nāgadvīpa, Saumya, Gāndharva, Varuṇa and Bhārata are the nine territories here surrounded by the ocean.

5-8. The continent extends to one thousand yojanas from north to south. There are nine divisions of the Bhārata lying around the central part. The kirātas (hunting tribes) (are) in the east. The yavanas (the foreigners) (are in the west). The brahmins and others devoted to the Vedas and smṛtis (code books) (are) in the central part. The rivers rise from the Pāriyātra (mountains). Narmadā and other (rivers) flow from the Vindhya. (The rivers) Tāpī, Payoṣṇikā, Godāvarī, Bhīmarathī and Kṛṣṇaveṇī and others flow from the Sahya (mountains). (The rivers) Kṛtamālā and others flow from the Malaya (mountains). (The rivers) Trisāmā and others originate from the Mahendra (mountain). (The rivers) Kumāra and others rise from Śuktimat (mountain). (The river) Candrabhāgā rises from the Himālaya (mountains). The countries Kuru and Pāñcāla and the Madhyadeśa are situated in the western part.