The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa

THE DESCRlPTrON OF JAMBTJ-DVIPA. 275 Canto LIV. The description of Jamhu-dvvpa, Mdrkandeya tells KraushtuM further the size of the earth, and irta order and dimensions of the seven continents and their oceans—He describes Jamhu-dvtpa, the countries in it, and Meru and the other mountains ; and mentions various local facts. Kraustuki spoke. 1 How many are the continents, and how many the oceans, and how many are' the mountains, O brahman ? And how many are the countries, and what are their rivers, Muni ? 2 And the size of the great objects of nature,* and the Lok^- loka mountain-range ; the circumference, and the size and 3 the course of the moon and the sun also—^tell me all this at length, great Muni. Markandeya spoke. 4 The earth is fifty times ten million yojanasf broad in every direction,^ O brahman. I tell thee of its entire consti- 5 tution, hearken thereto. The dvipas which I have mentioned to thee, began with Jambu-dvipa and ended with Pushkara- dvipa, illustrious brahman ; listen further to their dimen- 6 sions. Now each dvipa is twice the size of the dvipa which precedes it in this order, Jambu, and Plaksha, Sâlmala, Kuâ, 7 Kraunc'a and S'aka, and the Pushkara-dvipa, They are completely surrounded by oceans of salt water, sugar-cane juice, wine, ghee, curdled milk, and milk, which increase double and double, compared with each preceding one. 8 I will tell thee of the constitution of Jambu-dvfpa ; hearken to me. It is a hundred thousand yojanas in breadth and length, 9 it being of a circular shape. § Himavat, and Hema-kuta, Nishadha,|| and Meru, Nila, S'veta and S'ringin are the seven obviously be supplied ^ Mah4-bhuta. t This word must j see verse 8. J Tating the yojana as 40,000 feet (seeCanto xlix, 40), this diameter of the earth equals 3,787,878,788 miles. circumference § Vyittau. This distance cannot apply to the (vfitti) as well, for the circumference, length and breadth cannot all be the same. The text reads Rishabha, which disagrees with other Pnranas and verses II 22 and 23. — 275 CANTO LIT. 10 great mountain-systems* in it. Two of these great m.ornn- tain-rangesf are a hundred thousand yojanas in extent, and are situated in the middle of Jamhu-dvipa ; there are two more mountain-ranges which are south of those two, and two more 11 which are north. They are severally less by ten and ten thousand yojanas in length J; they are all two thousand j/q/araos 12 in height, and they have the same breadth. And six of the mountain-ranges in it extend into the sea. The earth is low on the south and north, it is highly elevated in the middle. 13 On the southern half of the elevated ground§ are three countries, and on the north are three. Ilavrita is ' situated between those halves, and is shaped like the half-moon. it is Bhadrasva, and west is Ketu-mala. 14 East of || Now in the middle of Ilavrita is Mern, the mountain of 16 gold. The height of that immense mountain is eighty-four^f thousand yojanas ; it penetrates downwards sixteen thousand 16 yojanas, and it is just sixteen thousand yojanas broad ; and since it is fashioned like a cup,** it is thirty-two thousand yojanas broad at the summit. It is white, yellow, black and 17 red on the east and other sides consecutively ; and a brahman, a vaisya, a ^ddra, and a kshatriya are stationed there according to the castes. Moreover, upon it on the east and the seven 18 other directions of the sky consecutivelytt are the Courts oi Indra * Yarsha-parvata. t Niahadba on the south of Meru, and NUa on the north, according to the Viahnu-Purana, Bk. II, oh. ii. text of the first line of verse 11 X The seems wrong^ : read instead, as in the MS. Dasabhir dambhir ny4ndh sahasrais te parasparam. Hema-kdta (south of Nishadha) and SVeta (north of Nila) are 90,000 yojanas long. Himavat of Hema-kuta) and S'ringin (south (north of S'veta) are 80,000 yojanas long. due The decrease is to their position in the circle of the earth. See Vishnu- * Purana, Bk. II., ch. ii. § Vedi. These are the nine countries |[ mentioned in canto liii verses 32-35. ^ For c'atur-asiti read c'atur-aSiti ? ** S'arava other authorities compare it ; to the inverted seed vessel of a lotus, which is somewhat like an inverted cone. The MS. reads purô for tt dikshu piirvddishu, with practically the same meaning. ; THE DESCEIPTION Of JAMBU-DVIPA. 277 and the other Loka-pdlas ; and in the centre is Brahma's Court, which is fourteen thousand yojanas high. 19 Moreover below it are the subjacent hills* with a height of ten thousand yojanas. On the east and other sides con- 20 secutively are the mountains Mandara, Gandha-madana, and Vipula, and Su-parsvaf ; they are decorated with trees as standards. The kadam treej is the standard on Mandara, 21 the jambu tree§ on Gandha-madana, and the a^vattha tree|| on Vipula, and the great banyanli on Su-par^va. These mountains 22 are eleven hundred yojanas in extent. Jathara and Deva- kuta are two mountains on the east side ; they stretch up to Nila and Nishadha without any space intervening between 23 them. ITishadha** and Paripatra are on the west side of Meru these two mountains, like the two former, extend to Nila 24 and Mshadha. Kailasa and Himavat are two great mountains on the south ; they stretch east and west ; they extend into 25 the ocean. S'ringavat and Jarudhi, moreover, are two moun- ; tains on the north ' they, like tJie two on the south, extend 26 into the ocean.ft These eight are called the boundary mountains, brahman. Hima-vat, Hema-kiita and the other 27 mountains comprise, one with another, nine thousand yojanas, eastward, westward, southward and northward. Similarly Meru stretches to the four quarters in the middle in Ilavrita. 28 The fruits which the jambuJJ ivee produces on the mountain * Vishkambha-parvata. t Mandara is on tlie Bast ; Gandha-madana on the South ; Vipnla on the Ivi, West ; and Su-p&rsva on the North. See Canto verses 7, 13 and 16. J See note **, page 25. § Eugenia Jambolana, Hooker, vol. II, p. 499 ; Eoxb. p. 398. A large tree, common everywhere, with a rather crooked trunk, shining leaves, and edible frnit. The bark yields brown dyes. Called also pippala ; Ficus religiosa (Oliver, p. 272 ; Roxb. p. 642) ; the II modern peepul ; a large spreading tree with a grateful shade, common everywhere. See also note *, p. 33. (Oliver, 272 F. indica, Koxb. T Yata, nous benghalensis p. j p. 639), the ** large, common, well-known tree. Read JR;is'habha f +t For amtarvdntar read ariiavdntar ? %% For Jamba read jambvd ? 278 CANTO LV. Grandha-madana, are as large as an elephaut's body ; they 29 fall on the top of the moantain. From their juice springs the famous Jambu river, in which is found the gold called 30 Jambti-nada. That river passes around Meru and then enters Jambu-m61a, brahman ; and those people drink of it. 31 In Bhadra^va Vishnu is figured with a horse's head ; in Bharata* he has the shape of a tortoise; and he is likes, boar in Ketu-mala ; and he has a fish's form in the north. 32 In all those four countries, worldly affairs are governed by the arrangement of the constellations, O brahman ; the people there study the influence of the planets. Canto LV. The Geography of Jambu-dvipa. MdrTtandeya mentions the forests and lakes and mountains around Meru—All the heavenly heings dwell in that region where there is the most charming scenery—Bharata alone is the land of action, which entails merit and sin. Markandeya spoke. 1 Hear from me of the four forests and lakes which exist on 2 Mandara and the three other mountains,t O brahman. On the east is the forest named O'aitra-ratha, on the southern m.ountain the forest Nandana, on the western mountain the forest Vaibhraja, and on the northern mountain the forest 3 Savitra. On the east is the lake Arunoda,J and on the south Manasa, on the west of Meru is S'itoda, and Maha-bhadra on the north. 4 On the east of Mandara are the mountains S'itartta,§ and C'akra-munja, and Kulira, Su-kanka-vat, and Mani-saila, 5 Vrisha-vat, Maha-nila, Bhavac'ala, Sa-bindu, Mandara, Venn, Tamasa, and Nishadha, and Deva-saila. * For hhdmte read bhdrate ? + For iailashu read âileshu. J Or Varanoda, see Canto Ivi, verse 6. § S'^tdrttas resii SVtdnta^ 9 See verse 17, and Canto Ivi, verse 6. THE GEOGRAPHY OF JAMBU-DVIPA. 279 € The mountain S'ikliara with its three peaks,* and Kalinga, Patangaka, Ruc'aka, and the mountain Sanu-mat, and Tam- 7 raka, Viâkha-vat, S'vetodara, and Sa-mdla, and Vasa-dhdra, Ratna-vat, Eka-^ringa, Maha-âila, Eaja-âila, Pipathaka, and 8 Panc'a-âila, Kaildsa, and Hima-vat loftiest of mountains the ; these monntains are said to lie on the south side of Mem. 9 Su-raksha,t and S'iîraksha, Vaidurya, and Kapila,J and 10 Pinjara, Maha-bhadra, Su-rasa, Kapila, Madhn, Anjana, Kukkuta, Krishna, and Pandura the loftiest of mountains, and the mountain Sahasra-sikhara, Paripatra, and S'ringa- 11 vat ; these mountains are well-known as lying on the west of Mem beyond the subjacent hins§ which are on the west side.

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