Part 12: Description of Vinītā

Now in the zone named Bharata in this Jambūdvīpa, there is a city Vinītā, the abode of the powerful and rich. Its wall shines with silver copings, as if they were made of moons brought from all the other continents.^[1] It, the depository of various jewels, shines with a silver rampart, as if served by Śeṣa made into a circle, for the sake of protection. The moon, reflected in the jeweled roofs of its palaces, is licked frequently by the house-cats with the idea that it is a ball of curds. Even the pleasure-parrots in this city recite, “Arhat, god, guru, and sādhu,” since they hear only that in every house. There lines of smoke, rising from burning aloes in every dwelling, spread a grove of tamālas^[2] in the air. In its gardens, surrounded by showers of mist from the water-machines, the rays of the sun never entered at all, as if afraid of the cold.