Category:Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 05 Chapter 16 - A Description of Jambudvipa
Pages in category "Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 05 Chapter 16 - A Description of Jambudvipa"
The following 47 pages are in this category, out of 47 total.
A
- Amidst these divisions, or varsas, is the varsa named Ilavrta, which is situated in the middle of the whorl of the lotus. Within Ilavrta-varsa is Sumeru Mountain, which is made of gold
- Arranged at the foot of Mount Meru are the mountains Kuranga, Kurara, Kusumbha, Vaikanka, Trikuta, Sisira, Patanga, Rucaka, Nisadha, Sinivasa, Kapila, Sankha, Vaidurya, Jarudhi, Hamsa, Rsabha, Naga, Kalanjara and Narada
B
- Because of these flowing rivers, all the people have ample supplies of milk, yogurt, honey, clarified butter (ghee), molasses, food grains, clothes, bedding, sitting places and ornaments
- Bhu-mandala is divided into seven islands because of these seven oceans. You (Sukadeva) have given a very general description of their measurement, names and characteristics. Now I (King Pariksit) wish to know of them in detail. Kindly fulfill my desire
I
- In Jambudvipa there are nine divisions of land, each with a length of 9,000 yojanas (72,000 miles). There are eight mountains that mark the boundaries of these divisions and separate them nicely
- In that transcendental position, one can understand the SPG, Vasudeva, who in His subtler form is self-effulgent and beyond the modes of nature. O my (Pariksit's) lord, please describe vividly how that form, which covers the entire universe, is perceived
- In the middle of the summit of Meru is the township of Lord Brahma. Each of its four sides is calculated to extend for ten million yojanas (eighty million miles). It is made entirely of gold, and therefore learned scholars and sages call it Satakaumbhi
- In the same way, west and east of Ilavrta-varsa are two great mountains named Malyavan and Gandhamadana respectively. These two mountains, which are 2,000 yojanas (16,000 miles) high, extend as far as Nila Mountain in the north and Nisadha in the south
O
- O King (Pariksit), I (Sukadeva) shall nevertheless try to explain to you the principal regions, such as Bhu-goloka (Bhuloka), with their names, forms, measurements and various symptoms
- O Maharaja Pariksit, between these four mountains are four huge lakes. The water of the first tastes just like milk; the water of the second, like honey; and that of the third, like sugarcane juice. The fourth lake is filled with pure water
- Of that, 16,000 yojanas (128,000 miles) are within the earth, and therefore the mountain's height above the earth is 84,000 yojanas (672,000 miles). The mountain's width is 32,000 yojanas (256,000 miles) at its summit and 16,000 yojanas at its base
- On the eastern side of Sumeru Mountain are two mountains named Jathara and Devakuta, which extend to the north and south for 18,000 yojanas (144,000 miles)
- On the four sides of the great mountain known as Sumeru are four mountains-Mandara, Merumandara, Suparsva and Kumuda - which are like its belts. The length and height of these mountains are calculated to be 10,000 yojanas (80,000 miles)
- On the lower slopes of Mandara Mountain is a mango tree named Devacuta. It is 1,100 yojanas high. Mangoes as big as mountain peaks and as sweet as nectar fall from the top of this tree for the enjoyment of the denizens of heaven
- On the side of Suparsva Mountain stands a big tree called Mahakadamba, which is very celebrated. From the hollows of this tree flow five rivers of honey, each about five vyamas wide
- On the southern side of Sumeru are two mountains named Kailasa and Karavira, which extend east and west for 18,000 yojanas, and on the northern side of Sumeru, extending for the same distance east and west, are two mountains named Trisrnga and Makara
- On the western side of Sumeru are two mountains named Pavana and Pariyatra, which also extend north and south for the same distance
S
- Similarly, on Kumuda Mountain there is a great banyan tree, which is called Satavalsa because it has a hundred main branches. From those branches come many roots, from which many rivers are flowing
- Similarly, the fruits of the jambu tree, which are full of pulp and have very small seeds, fall from a great height and break to pieces. Those fruits are the size of elephants, and the juice gliding from them becomes a river named Jambu-nadi
- South of Ilavrta-varsa and extending from east to west are three great mountains named (from north to south) Nisadha, Hemakuta and Himalaya. Each of them is 10,000 yojanas (80,000 miles) high
- Standing like flagstaffs on the summits of these four mountains are a mango tree, a rose apple tree, a kadamba tree and a banyan tree. Those trees are calculated to have a width of 100 yojanas (800 miles) and a height of 1,100 yojanas (8,800 miles)
- Sumeru Mountain is like the pericarp of the lotuslike Bhu-mandala planetary system. The mountain's height is the same as the width of Jambudvipa - or, in other words, 100,000 yojanas (800,000 miles)
- Surrounding Brahmapuri in all directions are the residences of the eight principal governors of the planetary systems, beginning with King Indra. These abodes are similar to Brahmapuri but are one fourth the size
T
- That juice cascades from the mountain in waterfalls and becomes a river called Arunoda, which flows pleasantly through the eastern side of Ilavrta
- The air carrying the scent from the mouths of those who drink that honey perfumes the land for a hundred yojanas around
- The best of the demigods, along with their wives, who are like ornaments of heavenly beauty, meet together and enjoy within those gardens, while their glories are sung by lesser demigods known as Gandharvas
- The celestial beings such as the Siddhas, Caranas and Gandharvas, who are also known as demigods, enjoy the facilities of those four lakes
- The denizens of heaven use this gold for various kinds of ornaments. Therefore all the inhabitants of the heavenly planets and their youthful wives are fully decorated with golden helmets, bangles and belts, and thus they enjoy life
- The great rsi Sukadeva Gosvami said: My dear King, there is no limit to the expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead's material energy
- The mud on both banks of the River Jambu-nadi, being moistened by the flowing juice and then dried by the air and the sunshine, produces huge quantities of gold called Jambu-nada
- The pious wives of the Yaksas act as personal maidservants to assist Bhavani, the wife of Siva. Because they drink the water of the River Arunoda, their bodies become fragrant, and as the air carries away that fragrance, it perfumes the entire atmosphere
- The planetary system known as Bhu-mandala resembles a lotus flower, and its seven islands resemble the whorl of that flower. The length and breadth of the island known as Jambudvipa, which is situated in the middle of the whorl
- The residents of the material world who enjoy the products of these flowing rivers have no wrinkles on their bodies and no grey hair. They never feel fatigue, and perspiration does not give their bodies a bad odor
- The width and height of all these mountains is 2,000 yojanas (16,000 miles). Sumeru, a mountain of solid gold shining as brilliantly as fire, is surrounded by these eight mountains
- There are other mountains beautifully arranged around the foot of Mount Meru like the filaments around the whorl of a lotus flower
- These rivers flow down from the top of the mountain to the northern side of Ilavrta-varsa for the benefit of those who live there
- They are not afflicted by old age, disease or untimely death, they do not suffer from chilly cold or scorching heat, nor do their bodies lose their luster. They all live very happily, without anxieties, until death
- This flowing honey falls incessantly from the top of Suparsva Mountain and flows all around Ilavrta-varsa, beginning from the western side. Thus the whole land is saturated with the pleasing fragrance
- This material world is a transformation of the material qualities (sattva-guna, rajo-guna and tamo-guna), yet no one could possibly explain it perfectly, even in a lifetime as long as that of Brahma No one in the material world is perfect
- This river falls a distance of 10,000 yojanas, from the summit of Merumandara to the southern side of Ilavrta, and floods the entire land of Ilavrta with juice
W
- When all those solid fruits fall from such a height, they break, and the sweet, fragrant juice within them flows out and becomes increasingly more fragrant as it mixes with other scents
- When the mind is fixed upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His external feature made of the material modes of nature - the gross universal form - it is brought to the platform of pure goodness