Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara (Study)

by Debabrata Barai | 2014 | 105,667 words

This page relates ‘Rajashekhara’s concepts of Seven Mahadvipas (islands)’ of the English study on the Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara: a poetical encyclopedia from the 9th century dealing with the ancient Indian science of poetics and rhetoric (also know as alankara-shastra). The Kavya-mimamsa is written in eighteen chapters representing an educational framework for the poet (kavi) and instructs him in the science of applied poetics for the sake of making literature and poetry (kavya).

Part 8.2 - Rājaśekhara’s concepts of Seven Mahādvīpas (islands)

According to the ancient Indian tradition, the earth is divided by seven Dvīpas (Islands). In the Mahābhārata, “earth is conceived of as a lotus flower with the Mahāmeru at its centre”[1]. Because, mount Meru is considered to be the locus of these Dvīpas.

Some believe that “there are four Dvīpas on the four sides of Meru. These four Dvīpas (Islands) are:—

  1. Bhadrāsva,
  2. Jambūdvīpa,
  3. Ketumālā and
  4. Uttarakuru.

Lying to east, south, west and north respectively.[2].

In the Vāyupurāṇa we can also found the similar views[3].

In this the those concepts of Dvīpas (islands) gave the concepts about the seven island theory i.e.

  1. Jambūdvīpa,
  2. Plākṣa,
  3. Śālmalī,
  4. Kuśa,
  5. Krauñca,
  6. Śaka and
  7. Puṣkara.

There Jambūdvīpa gave the most prominent place, which is situated in the centre of them.

This geographical division of earth given by most of the Purāṇas and in the Kāvyamīmāṃsā, Rājaśekhara followed it by saying:

jamvudvīpaḥ sarvamadhye tataśca plakṣī nāmnā śālmalo'taḥ ku śo'taḥ |
krauñcaḥ śākaḥ puṣkaraścetyaithaṣāṃ bāhyā bāhyā saṃsthitirmaṇḍalībhiḥ |”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 90

These seven Dvīpas (Islands) are surrounded by the seven oceans i.e.

  1. Kṣāra-samudra, the ocean of salt-water,
  2. Ikṣurasa-samudra, the ocean of sugarcane juice,
  3. Surā-samudra, the ocean of wine,
  4. Sarpis-samudra, the oceans of ghee,
  5. Dadhi-samudra, the oceans of milk,
  6. Payaḥ-samudra, the oceans of fresh water and
  7. Svāduvāri-samudra, the oceans of curd.

This view of Purāṇas also followed by Rājaśekhara in his Kāvyamīmāṃsā as says:

lavaṇo rasamayaḥ surodakaḥ sārpiṣo dadhijalaḥ payapayāḥ |
svāduvārirudadhiśca saptamastānparītya ta ime vyavasthitāḥ || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 91

However Rājaśekhara added here the different views of ancient times for the matter of oceans by:

eka evāyaṃ lāvaṇaḥ samudraḥ ityeke |”[4]

There is only one ocean, which is full of salt water. Thus says:

dvīpānyaṣṭādaśātra kṣitirapi navabhirviृstatā
  khāṅgakhaṇḍaireko'mbhodhirdigantapravisṛtasalilaḥ prājyametatsurājyam
|
kasminnapyājike livyatikaravijayopārjite vīrava(ca)rye
  cakre puñjena dātuṃ tadidamiti dhiyā vedhase yaścukopa
|| ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 91

Some other says about the concepts of three oceans and says:

ākampitakṣitibhṛtā mahatā nikāmaṃ helābhibhūtajaladhitritayena yasya |
vīryeṇa saṃhatibhidā vihatonnatena kalpāntakālavisṛtaḥ pavano'nucakre || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 91

There are others hold the four oceans theory and thus also says:

catuḥ samudravelormiracitaikāvalīlatam |
merumapyadrimullaṅghya yasya kvāpi gataṃ yaśaḥ || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 91

Then Rājaśekhara approves the all the different interpretations of different poets and says that they are of diverse imports in their arguments. And those who believe in the existence of seven seas are also not non-technical, it also have Śāstric (scientific) basis.

C.f.

bhinnābhiprāyatayā sarvamupapannam” iti yāyāvarīyaḥ |
saptasamudrīvādinastu śāstrādanapetā eva |

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 91

However Rājaśekhara stands on the seven-ocean theory and gives it’s on the Śāstric (scientific) support. C.f.

āgastyaculukocchiṣṭasaptavāridhivāriṇi |
muhurttaṃ ke śavenāpi tadantaḥ pūtarāyitama ( ? ) || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 91

And also says in the Kāvyamīmāṃsā as:

madhyejambūdvīpamādyo girīṇāṃ merurnāmnā kāñcanaḥ śailarājaḥ |
yo mūrttā(yo'matyā)nāmauṣadhīnāṃ nidhānaṃ yaścāvāsaḥ sarvavṛndārakāṇām || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 91

This view also seen in the Viṣṇupurāṇa and Rājaśekhara probabally influenced by it.[5] The mount-Meru is the chief mountain around the country Ilāvṛtavarṣa and the mountains Nīla, Śveta and Śṛṅgavān lay north of it. There are also three countries Ramyaka, Hiraṇmaya and North Kurava at the northern side of the mound-Meru. In the south of mount-Meru there are three mountains i.e. Niṣadha, Hemakūṭa and Himavān and three countries i.e. Harivarṣa, Kimpuruṣa and Bhāratavarṣa. Thus the Jambudvipa seems to the present south Asia. The modern Geographers S. M. Ali also recognized that, these types of identification of ancient theories are true if we compare it with the physical map of central Asia. There he also try to identify the mountains of Śṛṅgavān, Śvata, Nīla, Niṣadha, Hemakūṭa and Himavān as represent on the ‘Kara tau-kirrghiz-ketman’ chain, ‘Nura Tau Turkistan-Atbashi’ chain, ‘Lādākha-Kailaśḥ-Trans-Himālayān’ chain and the Great ‘Himālayān range’ etc.[6]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Pande, Syam Narayan, Geographical Horizon of the Mahabharata, Bharata Bharati, Oriental Publishers and Book Sellers, Varanasi, 1980, Pp-4

[2]:

Pande, Syam Narayan, Geographical Horizon of the Mahabharata, Bharata Bharati, Oriental Publishers and Book Sellers, Varanasi, 1980, Pp-4

[3]:

Vāyupurāṇa Ed. Pandit Sriram Sastry Acarya (in 2 vols); Samskriti Samsthan, Barely, 1969, xxxiv.46).

[4]:

Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Pp- 91

[5]:

Viṣṇupurāṇa, Ed. H.H. Wilson, Punthi Pustak, Calcutta, 1972

[6]:

S.M. Ali, The Geography of the Puranas, Peoples Publishing House, N. Delhi, 1966, Pp-53

Like what you read? Consider supporting this website: