Part 8.3 - Rājaśekhara’s concepts of Bhāratavarṣa (undivided india)

In political view, the Bhāratavarṣa means the undivided India, which is laying form the Himālayā range southern ocean.

It is consists of nine countries i.e.

1. Īndradvīpa [Indradvīpa?],
2. Kaśerumān,
3. Tāmraparṇa,
4. Gabhastimān,
5. Nāgadvīpa,
6. Saumya,
7. Gāndharva,
8. Varuṇa and
9. Kumārīdvīpa.

In the Kāvyamīmāṃsā, Rājaśekhara mentions that the one Siṃhaḷa [Siṃhala] instead of Kaśerumān in the Purāṇas. The modern geographers think that, ‘these nine parts of Bhāratavarṣa doesn’t correspond to the modern cities of Bhārata. They posit that the greater Bhāratavarṣa is extends to the coast of modern East-Indies’^[1] and thus they try to identify the nine-parts with the Burma, Malayan, Peninsula, Java, Sumatra, Ceylon etc. But this modern concept is differing from the Vāyupurāṇa’s concepts of geography of Bhāratavarṣa. Because, in the Vāyupurāṇa Bhāratavarṣa lies north of the sea and south of Himavān and it extend from nine thousand Yojanas from Kumārikya to Gaṅgā.

However Vāyupurāṇa mentions nineparts but there does not mentions its total nine names gives only eight i.e.

“bhāratasyā varṣasya nava bhedāḥ prakīrtitāḥ |
samudrāntaritā ñjeyāste tvagamyāḥ parasparam ||
indradvīpaḥ kaseruśca tāmraparṇo gabhastimān |
nāgadvīpastathā saumyo gandharvastvatha vāruṇaḥ ||
ayaṃ tu navamasteṣāṃ dvīpaḥ sāgarasṛṃvataḥ |
yojanānāṃ sahasraṃ tu dvīpo'yaṃ dakṣiṇottaram || ”

- Vāyupurāṇa: XXXII/ 6/ 12

Then, the division of Bhāratavarṣa into nine Khaṇḍas is mentioned in the Siddhāntaśiromoṇi of the celebrated astronomer Bhāṣkarācārya also.^[2] Beside these in the Vāmanapurāṇa, Skandapurāṇa and Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa also refer the name of Kumārīdvīpa.

This ‘Cakravartikṣetra’ of the earth is extends to the Himālayas from southern ocean, and who wins all these nine khaṇḍas with his prowess is known as the ‘emperor’ or ‘Cakravarti’.

C.f.

“tānyetāni yo jayati sa samrāḍityucyate | ku mārīpurātprabhṛti  bindusaro'vadhi yojanānāṃ daśaśatī cakravartikṣetram | tāṃ vijayamānaścakravartī bhavati |”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 92

Here Rājaśekhara is found to influence by Kauṭilya and Vāyupurāṇa.^[3]

Then Rājaśekhara gives the signs of ‘Cakravarti emperor’ as:

“cakraṃ ratho maṇirbhāryā nidhiraśvo gajastathā |
proktāni sapta ratnāni sarveṣāṃ cakravarttanām || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 92

[Jambū-dvīpa; Lavaṇa Sāgara; Śṛṅgavān Kuru; Śveta; Hiraṇmaya; Nīla; Ramyaka; Meru; Ilā-vṛta; Niṣādha; Harivarṣa; Hemakūṭa; Kiṃpuruṣa; Himavān; Bhārata.]

[Based on the M. R. Singh, Geographical Data in the Early Puranas: A Critical Study, 1972, Pp-3, Diagram no- 1]

The seven Kulaparvatas of Kumāradvīpa are consisting by:

1. Vindhya,
2. Pāriyātra,
3. Śuktimān,
4. Ṛkṣaparvan,
5. Mahendra,
6. Sahya and
7. Malaya.

C.f.

“vindhyaśca pāriyātraśca śuktimānṛkṣaparvataḥ |
mahendrasahyamalayāḥ saptaite ku laparvatāḥ || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 92

In the Vāyupurāṇa also mentioned these names^[4].

Among them, Vindhya is get the most prominent place and Malaya Mountain are divided into four types. C.f.

“tatra vindhyādayaḥ pratītasvarupāḥ |
malayaviśeṣāstu catvāraḥ || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 92

The region between the eastern and western oceans and in the center of Himālayas and the Vindhyas there is known as Āryāvarta. There are four varṇas (classes) and four āśrama (stages) of people prevalent in Āryāvartta. This forms of their life and system is the basis for society and makes the poet perfect Rājaśekhara argue that the poets should follow the tradition prevalent in Āryāvartta in their descriptions.

In the Baudhāyana’s Dharmasūtra identifies the place between the Sarasvatī River and the Kāla kavana (a place near Prayāga) known as Madhyadeśa. In the Manusmṛti, this region calls Āryāvartta and identifies it as on Madhyadeśa. Moreover, it is extending from the Himālayas in the north to the Vindhyas in the south, from the Vināśana in the west, and the Prayāga in the east^[5]. Rājaśekhara mention this region as Antarvedī.^[6]

[Inner and outer concept of Bhāratavarṣa according to Manu—Āryāvarta; Brahmāvarta; Madhyadeśa; Brahmarṣideśa.]

In ancient Indian tradition Bhāratavarṣa is divided into five parts i.e.

1. Pūrvadeśa,
2. Uttarāpatha,
3. Paścāddeśa,
4. Dakṣiṇāpatha and
5. Madhyadeśa.

In the Kāvyamīmāṃsā, Rājaśkhara says that the Pūrvadeśa is the region to the east of Benarasa, the north side of Pṛthudaka is Uttarāpatha, the west side of Devasabhā is the Paścāddeśa, the southern part of Māhiṣmāti is the Dakṣiṇāpatha and the region between these four parts is the Madhyadeśa.

[Rājaśekhara’s divisions of Bhāratavarṣa—Uttarāpatha; Paścāddeśa; Pūrvadeśa; Madhyadeśa; Dakṣiṇāpatha.]

The region lying into the Vinaśana and Prayāga, Gaṅgā and Jamunā is known by Antarvedī. This is may be seems with the Āryāvartta of ancient text of Patañjali, here the five division mentions in the Rājaśekhara in his Kāvyamīmāṃsā is seems to the similar with the five division of Purāṇas Bhuvanakoṣa part.

[Patañjali’s concepts of Āryāvarta—Indo-Greek; Fair Brāhmaṇas Vs Dark Non-Brāhmaṇas; Āryāvarta, according to Patañjali.]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

S.M. Ali, The Geography of the Puranas, Peoples Publishing House, N. Delhi, 1966, Pp-127

[2]:

Ibid, Op. Cit., Pp-126

[3]:

Vāyupurāṇa: XXXII/ 17

[4]:

Vāyupurāṇa: XXXII/ 19

[5]:

Manusmriti: II/ 22

[6]:

Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Pp- 93