Chapter 2 - Jambūdvīpa, ‘Land of the Rose-Apple Tree’

Maitreya

Brahmin, you’ve told me about creation during the period of Svāyaṃbhuva. Now I’d like to hear from you about the entire circle of the earth, 1

Including oceans, lands, regions, mountains, forests, lakes and the cities of the gods and other beings, sage, 2

As well as the dimensions, support, nature and state of each. It befits you, sage, to describe all this. 3

Parāśara

Listen while I explain it all in brief, Maitreya, because I couldn’t give you all the details even in a hundred years. 4

Jambū, Plakṣa, Śālma, Kuśa, Krauñca and Śāka, with Puṣkara as the seventh, brahmin: 5

These are the continents surrounded by seven oceans, of saltwater, syrup, wine, ghee, whey, milk and water, respectively. 6

Jambūdvīpa is in the middle of these, and the golden mountain, Meru, is at the centre of that continent, Maitreya. 7

Mount Meru stands eighty-four thousand leagues in height. 8

It descends below the surface of the earth for a further sixteen thousand leagues, its summit is thirty-two thousand leagues across and the base of the mountain is fully sixteen thousand leagues wide. 9

The world resembles a lotus flower with Mount Meru as the seed head at its heart. 10

The mountain ranges Himavant, Hemakūṭa and Niṣadha are to the south of Meru, while Nīla, Śveta and Śṛṅgin lie northward. 11

The two ranges closest to the centre are one hundred thousand leagues in length, while each of the others is successively ten thousand leagues shorter. They are all two thousand leagues high and two thousand wide. 12

To the south of Meru, the first region is Bhārata, Kimpuruṣa is next, then comes another, Harivarṣa, brahmin. 13

To the north of Meru is the region Ramya, followed by Hiraṇmaya and the Northern Kurus, whose position mirrors that of Bhārata. 14

Each of these regions is nine thousand leagues wide, excellent brahmin, including Ilāvṛta, which has the towering golden mountain, Meru, at its centre. 15

From the four sides of Meru, Ilāvṛta extends nine thousand leagues in each direction, fortunate brahmin, and there are four mountains in this region. 16

Arranged like pillars around Mount Meru, each stands ten thousand leagues high. To the east is Mandara by name, to the south Gandhamādana, Vipula is on the western side and Supārśva is to the north. 17

On each of these stands a tree, eleven hundred leagues across—a kadamba, a jambū, a pippala and a vaṭa, respectively—like banners on a mountain top. 18

Jambūdvīpa is named for this jambū, a rose-apple tree, great sage, the fruits of which are as large as elephants. 19

When they fall down upon the mountain, they split open and their juices form a river, the Jambūnadī, from which the residents of that region drink. 20

As a result of drinking from the river, the people never sweat, smell bad, grow old or lose their senses, and their minds are always sharp. 21

When the mud on the riverbank, coming into contact with the juice, is dried by pleasant breezes, it becomes the kind of gold that’s known as jāmbūnada and is used in making jewellery for the siddhas. 22

The region of Bhadrāśva lies east of Meru, Ketumāla is to the west, best of sages, and Ilāvṛta lies between them. 23

The Caitraratha forest is also east of Meru, and the forest of Gandhamādana is to the south. Similarly, Vaibhrāja is to the west and Nandana to the north. 24

The four lakes of Aruṇoda, Mahābhadra, Asitoda and Mānasa are always enjoyed by deities. 25

The mountain ranges Śītāmbha, Kumanda, Kurarin, Mālyavant, with Vaikaṅka as the foremost, extend eastwards from Meru. 26

The Trikūṭa, Śiśira, Pataṅga, Rucaka, Niṣadha and other ranges lie south. 27

Śikhivāsas, Savaiḍūya, Kapila, Gandhamādana, with Jārudhi as the main one, are to the west. 28

Śaṅkhakūṭa, Ṛṣabha, Haṃsa, Nāga, Kālañjana and others lie northward. These are situated in the regions around Mount Meru, including Jaṭhara. 29

On the summit of Mount Meru is Brahmā’s wondrous city, fourteen thousand leagues across, Maitreya, and renowned throughout the heavens. 30

On all sides of that city, at the four cardinal points and the four intermediate ones, are the famed and excellent cities of Indra and other world-protecting deities. 31

Here, the River Gaṅgā, which flows across the foot of Viṣṇu, having first bathed the face of the moon, cascades from the heavens on every side of Brahmā’s city. 32

After it has descended there, it flows in four directions as the Sītā, Alakanandā, Cakṣu and Bhadrā rivers, respectively. 33

The Sītā flows eastwards through the sky from mountain to mountain, then crosses the eastern region of Bhadrāśva to the ocean. 34

Similarly, the Alakanandā flows south to Bhārata, before dividing into seven streams and entering the ocean, great sage. 35

The Cakṣu flows west past all the mountain ranges and, having reached the western region of Ketumāla, there joins the ocean. 36

Likewise, the Bhadrā crosses the northern mountain ranges and the land of Northern Kurus to reach the ocean in that direction, great sage. 37

Meru stands amid the Nīla, Niṣadha, Mālyavant and Gandhamādana mountains, like the seed head at the centre of a lotus. 38

The Bhāratas, Ketumālas, Bhadrāśvas and the Kurus, like the petals of the lotus-world, lie beyond the limits of the mountains. 39

Jaṭhara and Devakūṭa are two ranges that form a barrier extending north to south, meeting the Nīla and Niṣadha mountains. 40

Gandhamādana and Kailāsa stretch east and west, eighty leagues in width, from sea to sea. 41

The two ranges Niṣadha and Pāriyātra also form barriers to the west of Meru, as do those on the east. 42

Triśṛṅga and Jārudhi, two regional ranges in the north, also extend east and west from sea to sea. 43

Thus, I’ve described for you, best of sages, the mountain ranges of Jaṭhara and the rest, which, in pairs, form barriers on the sides of Meru. 44

The chains of mountains on each side of Meru that I’ve mentioned, such as Śītā, are exceedingly delightful, sage. The valleys found between these ranges, inhabited by siddhas and cāraṇas, are pleasant, as are the forests and the cities. 45

There the excellent sanctuaries of Lakṣmī, Viṣṇu, Agni, Sūrya and other deities, best of sages, are frequented by the foremost kiṃnaras. 46

Gandharvas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, Daityas and Dānavas disport themselves both day and night in those splendid valleys. 47

These regions are like heaven on earth and are the abode of the righteous, sage. Evildoers may not approach them, even after a hundred rebirths. 48

In the region of Bhadrāśva, Lord Viṣṇu dwells in the form of horse-headed Hayaśiras, brahmin. He takes the form of a boar in Ketumāla and a tortoise in Bhārata. 49

Govinda takes the form of a fish in the land of Kurus, but Janārdana of universal form is in fact everywhere, and Hari, the universal being, is master of all. 50

He is the foundation of everything, Maitreya, and lies at the heart of all. 51

The other eight regions beginning with Kimpuruṣa are free from pain, fatigue, anxiety, hunger, calamities and other woes, great sage. 52

Their inhabitants are healthy, fearless, free from suffering and live for ten or twelve millennia. 53

The rain god Indra has no need to provide showers in those regions as there is sufficient water on the ground, nor are they subject to the cycles of the ages, Kṛta, Tretā and the others. 54

In each of these regions are seven mountain ranges, best of brahmins, where hundreds upon hundreds of rivers rise. 55

So ends Chapter Two in Book Two of the glorious Viṣṇu Purāṇa.