Sukeśī’s Dharma Discourse

In Chapters 11 to 13 of the Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, a group of ṛshis (seers) teach dharma to Sukeśī, a rākshasa king. The teaching covers the dharma of twelve kinds of beings, the seven dvīpas (continents) of Bhūloka, the narakas (hells) and the pāpa (sin) that leads to each, and the nine varshas (regions) of Jambūdvīpa with their great rivers.

Sukeśī and the instruction

Sukeśī was a rākshasa king of standing. Chapter 23 names him as one of the guardians whom Bhagavān Vishṇu appointed to protect Pṛthūdaka tīrtha and Kurukshetra. In Chapters 11 to 13 he comes to an assembly of ṛshis with sincere questions about dharma. The ṛshis answer with a full teaching on the structure of the world, the results of pāpa and sacred places.

The Purāṇa returns to Sukeśī in Chapter 16. There the rākshasas who followed the teaching gained brilliance. Even so, Bhagavān Sūrya destroyed their city, and Bhagavān Śiva in the end stepped in to save Sūrya.

Dharma for twelve kinds of beings

The ṛshis taught Sukeśī the dharma that suits twelve kinds of beings: devas, ṛshis, pitṛs, gandharvas, apsarasas, nāgas, rākshasas, yakshas, kiṃnaras, siddhas, vidyādharas and manushyas. Each kind has its own nature (svabhāva), its own conduct, and its own results for keeping or breaking that conduct. Dharma here is not one code for all. It is a graded path that fits the nature and place of each kind of being. This teaching is in Chapter 11.

The seven dvīpas

Chapter 11 also describes the seven dvīpas of Bhūloka: Jambū, Plaksha, Śālmali, Kuśa, Krauñca, Śāka and Pushkara. Each dvīpa is ringed by its own ocean. In the same order the oceans are of salt water, sugarcane juice, wine, ghee, curds, milk and sweet water. The dvīpas grow larger as one goes outward. Jambūdvīpa lies at the centre, around the golden mountain Meru.

The narakas

Chapter 12 lists the narakas and the pāpa that sends beings to each.

  1. Raurava: injury to creatures and selfishness
  2. Śūkara: cruelty and violence
  3. Rodha: blocking the path of others, and theft
  4. Tāla: destroying the resources of the world, and giving up one’s own svadharma (own duty)
  5. Viśasana: killing other beings, and betraying friends
  6. Mahājvāla: plotting, and stealing fruits and trees
  7. Taptakumbha: taking what belongs to a king, and wronging a queen
  8. Lavaṇa: greed, miserliness and destroying dharma
  9. Vimohana: driving out brāhmaṇas and speaking ill of them
  10. Rudhirāndha: giving up the conduct of good people, and harming disciples
  11. Vaitaraṇī: cutting up bodies, and stopping a king from doing his duties
  12. Kṛmibhaksha: low conduct, and doing wrong while knowing what is right
  13. Trottana: putting obstacles in the way of the four purushārthas (aims of life)
  14. Śālmalivana: miserliness, lack of dharma, and forbidden burning
  15. Vajrakaṇṭaka: ignorance, jealousy, impurity and falsehood
  16. Vaitaraṇī (a second naraka of this name): sloth, abusing others, and every form of ātatāyitva (attack on others)
  17. Pūyavaha: desire for another man’s wife, and dislike of truth

The chapter also gives further narakas tied to other wrongs against society.

Jambūdvīpa and its nine varshas

Chapter 13 describes Jambūdvīpa in detail. Great mountain ranges divide the continent into nine varshas.

  1. Bhāratavarsha: south of the Himālaya. It is the karma-bhūmi (land of action), where human effort bears fruit.
  2. Kimpurusha: north of the Himālaya, the realm of divine races
  3. Harivarsha
  4. Ilāvṛta: the central region around Meru
  5. Ramyaka
  6. Hiraṇmaya
  7. Uttara Kuru: the region of the immortals
  8. Bhadrāśva: east of Meru
  9. Ketumāla: west of Meru

Each varsha has its own rivers, mountains, peoples, plants and spiritual quality. Bhāratavarsha is picked out as the most important, because it alone is the field where karma and dharma work to bring either moksha (liberation) or bondage.

The great rivers of Bhāratavarsha are grouped by the mountains they come down from. These are the rivers of the Himālaya (Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī and others), the rivers born in the Vindhya that flow south, and various local streams. Chapter 13 also lists the main janapadas (peoples and regions).

Sources

  • Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 11 (dharma for twelve kinds of beings; the seven dvīpas)
  • Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 12 (the narakas)
  • Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 13 (Jambūdvīpa, the nine varshas and the rivers)
  • Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 16 (the rākshasas who followed the teaching)
  • Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 23 (Sukeśī as guardian of Pṛthūdaka tīrtha and Kurukshetra)