Chapter 46 - Dvīpas and their Lords

Sūta said:

1. The Earth consists of seven continents.^[1] It is full of rivers and mountains. It is surrounded by seven oceans^[2] all round and embellished by them.

2. The seven continents beginning with the inner one are Jambū, Plakṣa, Śālmali, Kuśa, Krauñca, Śāka and Puṣkara.

3. Lord Śiva is present in all the seven continents, accompanied by Umā (his consort), surrounded by the Gaṇas, and assuming different guises.

4-5. The seven oceans in order are those having, (1) briny water, (2) sugarcane juice, (3) wine, (4) ghee, (5) curds, (6) milk and (7) sweet water. In all these oceans the glorious lord Śiva assumes the form of water and sports with the waves along with the Gaṇas.

6. Lord Viṣṇu always sleeps in yogic slumber in the milky ocean as though he were the nectar from that, with his intellect concentrated on the knowledge of Śiva.

7. When the lord wakes up, the entire universe wakes up; when he is asleep it is also asleep; the mobile and immobile beings are identical with him.

8. With the favour of Parameṣṭhin lord of Devas, everything was created, held, protected and annihilated by him alone.

9. O excellent sages, those who are well known as suṣeṇas worship Aniruddha the leading Puruṣa holding conch, discus and iron club.

10-14. O sages, most excellent among the knowers of Ātman! those who meditate on Aniruddha Puruṣa are all similar to Viṣṇu and become endowed with all riches. Sanandana, Sanaka, Sanātana, Vālakhilyas, Siddhas, Mitra and Varuṇa these all worship Viṣṇu who is the origin of the universe. In all the seven continents there are lofty mountains, some rising to great heights, some extending as far as the oceans, others having many peaks and caves. There were many kings in these continents who were overlords and who ruled with efficiency according to the demands of the period. They were powerful, thanks to the lord (Śiva), the father of the enemy of Krauñca^[3] (i.e. Kārttikeya).

15-18. I shall mention the kings in all the manvantaras past and future, beginning with those in the Svāyambhuva manvantara. The grandsons of Svāyambhuva Manu were all very strong, with similar status, honour and identical purposes. They were the heroic sons of Priyavrata^[4] and they are reputed to be ten,^[5] viz., Āgnīdhra, Agnibāhu, Medhā, Medhātithi, Vasu, Jyotiṣmān, Dyutimān, Havya, Savana and Putra, Priyavrata crowned seven of them as kings over the seven continents.

19-24. He made Āgnīdhra the lord of Jambūdvīpa and. Medhātithi the king of Plakṣadvīpa. He crowned Vapuṣmān the king of Śālmali, Jyotiṣmān the king of Kuśadvīpa, Dyutimān the king of Krauñcadvīpa, Havya the lord of Śākadvīpa. O sages of good holy rites, he made Savana the overlord of Puṣkara. Savana had two sons Mahāvīra and Dhātakī. They were most excellent that men could have. The kingdom of Mahāvīra is known as Mahāvīra Varṣa after the name of that noble soul. The kingdom of Dhātakī is called Dhātakīkhaṇḍa.^[6] Havya the lord of Śākadvīpa procreated seven sons.

25. They were Jalada, Kumāra, Sukumāra, Maṇīcaka, Kusumottara, Modāki and Mahādruma.

26-29. The Varṣa continent of Talada is called (1) Talada; the Varṣa of Kumāra is called (2) Kaumāra; that of Sukumāra is glorified as (3) Sukumāra; the Varṣa of Maṇīcaka is called (4) Māṇīcaka; the Varṣa of Kusumottara is (5) Kusumottara, the Varṣa of Modāki is glorified as (6) Modaka; after the name of Mahādruma, the next Varṣa is (7) Mahādruma; all the seven Varṣas are thus named after their rulers.

30-34. Dyutimān, the lord of Krauñca Dvīpa had seven sons named Kuśala, Manuga, Uṣṇa, Pīvara, Andhakāraka, Muni and Dundubhi who had splendid sub-continents named after them, in the Krauñca Dvīpa. The sub-continent of Kusala is Kuśala; that of Manuga is Manonuga; that of Uṣṇa is Uṣṇa; that of Pīvara is Pīvara; the land of Andhakāra is Andhakāraka; the land of Muni is called Muni and that of Dundubhi is Dundubhi. These seven shining countries are in Krauñca Dvīpa.

In the Kuśadvīpa, Jyotiṣmān had seven powerful sons.

35. They were Udbhida, Veṇumān, Dvairatha, Lavaṇa, Dhṛti, Prabhākara and Kapila.

36-37. The first Varṣa is Udbhida; the second is Veṇumaṇḍala; the third is Dvairatha; the fourth is Lavaṇa; the fifth is Dhṛtimat; the sixth is Prabhākara, and the seventh is Kapila.

38-41. The seven sons of Vapuṣman were the rulers of various countries of Śālmali Dvīpa. They were Śveta, Harita, Jīmūta, Rohita, Vaidyuta, Mānasa and Suprabha; The land of Śveta is Śveta; that of Harita, Hārita; that of Jīmūta is Jīmūta; that of Rohita is Rohita; that of Vaidyuta is Vaidyuta; that of Mānasa is Mānasa and that of Suprabha is Suprabha; thus there are seven countries marked after the names of their rulers. I shall mention the divisions in the Plakṣadvīpa that is beyond Jambūdvīpa.

42-45. Medhātithi had seven sons; they were the kings of Plakṣa Dvīpa which consists of seven Varṣas. The eldest among the sons was Śāntabhaya. After him were Śiśira; Sukhodaya, Ānanda; Śiva, Kṣemaka and Dhruva. The continent was divided into seven Varṣas and named after these sons. Formerly in the Svāyambhuva manvantara these Varṣas were colonised by them. Subjects endowed with the discipline of four castes and four stages of life were colonised in the Varṣas by those sons of Medhātithi, the residents of Plakṣadvīpa.

46-47. In the five continents beginning with Plakṣadvīpa and ending with Śākadvīpa, the Dharma, was promulgated in accordance with the division of four castes and four stages of life. O excellent brahmins, in these five Dvīpas, happiness, span, of life, handsome features, strength and Dharma were their individual characteristics respectively.

48-49. The characteristic common to all the five continents was that the subjects there were all perpetually engaged in the worship of Rudra and devoted to Maheśvara. The kings born in the Puṣkaradvīpa enjoy the nectar of their devout feelings towards Prajāpati and Rudra.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

seven continents: p. 71, note 89. The verse 2 of this chapter mentions their names. On the identification of these dvīpas on the basis of climatic and vegetation data available in the Purāṇas, see S. M. ALL op. cit. chapter II.

[2]:

samudraiḥ saptabhiḥ—by seven seas. According to S. M. Ali, “samudra does not necessarily mean ‘a watery sea’. The Puranic sea can be a large expanse of sand as well as water. The sea of sand and that of water as barriers to human settlement and movement are synonymous when considering the geography of the inhabited world.”

[3]:

Krauñcāri [krauñcāriḥ]: the enemy of Krauñca, i.e. Kārttikeya, so called because he split the Himālaya range Krauñca, situated in the eastern part of the chain on the north of Assam.

[4]:

Priyavrata, son of Svāyambhuva Manu and Śatarūpā.

[5]:

Though the number is the same, their names differ in the Purāṇas.

[6]:

Dhātakī Khaṇḍa. Prof. Ali identifies this with the Gobi desert on the west of Khingan range in the Japanese Highlands. See The Geography of the Purāṇas, p. 287.