Ilāvṛta Varsha

Ilāvṛta Varsha

Ilāvṛta Varsha is the varsha (region) in the middle of Jambū Dvīpa. The Vāmana Purāṇa names it first among the nine varshas of Jambū Dvīpa, and first of the eight varshas outside Bhārata, pure and lovely lands where there is no division into yugas, no fear of old age and death, and where the people attain siddhi naturally, without effort.

The Agni Purāṇa places Ilāvṛta in the middle of all the varshas, with Mount Meru standing in it; it reaches nine thousand yojanas on every side of Sumeru. Āgnīdhra, son of Priyavrata, gave it to his son Ilāvṛta. Around Meru stand four mountains like pillars set by Īśvara to hold it up, and the boundary mountains Mālyavān and Gandhamādana run north and south to Nīla and Nishadha, with Meru between them like the pericarp of a lotus.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa, in Śrī Śuka Maharshi’s description of the bhuvana-kośa to Parīkshit, places Ilāvṛta as the inner varsha in the middle of the nine, with golden Meru in its centre. Around Meru stand four supporting mountains made by Īśvara, with a mango, a jambū, a kadamba and a banyan standing on them like flags, four lakes and four gardens of the devatās; from the trees flow the red river Aruṇodā into its east, the Jambū river whose banks turn to Jāmbūnada gold, streams of honey into its west and streams of every desired thing into its north. In Ilāvṛta Bhagavān Śiva alone is male, attended by crores of women led by Devī Pārvatī, and there he worships Saṅkarshaṇa with a stuti; any man who enters becomes a woman, as Prince Sudyumna did.

Its place in Jambū Dvīpa

The account is given in Pulastya Maharshi‘s telling to Nārada Maharshi. The rākshasa king Sukeśī went to the maharshis of a forest in Magadha and asked them about the worlds. When they had described Pushkara Dvīpa, he asked them: “Now tell me the state of Jambū Dvīpa.” The ṛshis answered that Jambū Dvīpa is in nine divisions, very vast, and able to grant svarga (heaven) and moksha.

Its nine varshas, with their directions, are:

  • in the middle, Ilāvṛta-varsha
  • in the east, the wonderful Bhadrāśva-varsha
  • in the north-east, Hiraṇya-varsha
  • in the south-east, Kiṃnara-varsha
  • in the south, Bhārata-varsha
  • in the south-west, Hari-varsha
  • in the west, Ketumāla-varsha
  • in the north-west, Ramyaka-varsha
  • in the north, Kuru-varsha, full of kalpavṛkshas (wish-fulfilling trees)

All these nine regions are pure and lovely.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 13

Per Agni Purāṇa, Agni Deva, telling Vasishṭha Maharshi of the bhuvanakośa (the treasury of the worlds), gives the varshas around Meru. Jambū Dvīpa is in the middle of the seven dvīpas, and in the middle of Jambū Dvīpa is the lofty Meru, eighty-four thousand yojanas high. This king of mountains goes sixteen thousand yojanas down into the earth; at its top it is thirty-two thousand yojanas wide, and below sixteen thousand, so that it is like the pericarp of the lotus that is the earth. To its south stand the varsha mountains Himavān, Hemakūṭa and Nishadha; to its north, Nīla, Śveta and Śṛṅgī. South of Meru are Bhāratavarsha, Kiṃpurusha and Harivarsha; north of it, Ramyaka, Hiraṇmaya and Uttarakuru, each nine thousand yojanas in extent. In the middle of them all is Ilāvṛta-varsha, in which Meru stands. Ilāvṛta extends nine thousand yojanas on every side of Sumeru.

On its four sides are four mountains, as if pillars set by Īśvara to hold up Sumeru: Mandarācala on the east, Gandhamādana on the south, Vipula on the west and Supārśva on the north, each ten thousand yojanas in extent. On them the kadamba, the jambū, the aśvattha and the vaṭa trees, each eleven yojanas in extent, shine like banners. The jambū tree gives Jambū Dvīpa its name: its fruits are as large as elephants, their juice flows as the Jambū river, and from it comes the gold called jāmbūnada. East of Meru is Bhadrāśva-varsha and west of it Ketumāla.

The Mālyavān and Gandhamādana mountains stretch north and south up to Nīla and Nishadha, and between the two stands Meru, shaped like the pericarp. The varshas Bhārata, Ketumāla, Bhadrāśva and Uttarakuru, outside these maryādā (boundary) mountains, are the petals of the world-lotus. On Sumeru is Brahmapurī, fourteen thousand yojanas in extent, with the cities of Indra and the other lokapālas on its four sides.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 108

Ilāvṛta, son of Āgnīdhra

The Agni Purāṇa gives the varsha’s first lord. Priyavrata gave the seven dvīpas to his sons, and to Āgnīdhra he gave Jambū Dvīpa, many lakhs of yojanas in extent. Āgnīdhra divided it among his own sons:

  • Nābhi received Himavarsha, which is Bhāratavarsha
  • Kiṃpurusha received Hemakūṭa-varsha
  • Harivarsha received Naishadha-varsha
  • Ilāvṛta received Ilāvṛta-varsha in the middle, with Mount Meru
  • Ramyaka received Ramyaka-varsha, near Mount Nīla
  • Hiraṇvān received Śveta-varsha
  • Kuru received Uttarakuru-varsha
  • Bhadrāśva received Bhadrāśva-varsha
  • Ketumāla received Ketumāla-varsha, west of Meru

Having made his sons lords of these varshas, Priyavrata became a vānaprastha (a forest-dweller), performed tapas at the Śālagrāma kshetra and attained Vishṇuloka.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 107

The life of its people

The maharshis named the eight varshas outside Bhārata as “the eight beginning with Ilāvṛta”. In them there is no division of time into yugas and no fear of old age and death. The people there attain siddhi (spiritual perfection) easily, without effort: it is natural to them (sahaja-siddha). Among them there is no distinction of high and low, and no reversal of fortune of any kind.

Bhārata is the ninth varsha. There, the maharshis said, people become pure by carrying out the duties of their own varṇa, and their puṇya and pāpa, their reaching svarga and moksha, are decided by what they do.

Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 13

Per Bhāgavata Purāṇa

Ilāvṛta and Meru

Parīkshit asked Śrī Śuka Maharshi for the measures and features of the seven khaṇḍas of the bhū-maṇḍala, for the mind fixed on this gross form of Bhagavān Vishṇu can then be fixed on his subtle nirguṇa form. Śuka answered that even with the lifespan of the devatās no one could describe the greatness of the māyā-śakti of Bhagavān Vishṇu, so he would tell only the chief names, forms, measures and features. Jambūdvīpa, where we live, is the innermost of the sheaths of the bhū-maṇḍala, one lakh yojanas across and round like a lotus leaf. It has nine varshas, each nine thousand yojanas long, divided by mountains on their boundaries. In the middle of them is the inner varsha called Ilāvṛta. In the middle of Ilāvṛta stands Meru, made entirely of gold, the best of the kula-parvatas, one lakh yojanas high, the pericarp of the lotus that is the bhū-maṇḍala: 32,000 yojanas wide at the summit, 16,000 at the foot, and 16,000 yojanas below the ground.

North of Ilāvṛta, in a row, lie Ramyaka, Hiraṇmaya and Kuru, bounded in order by the mountains Nīla, Śveta and Śṛṅgavān, each two thousand yojanas broad and stretching east and west to the salt ocean, each a little more than a tenth shorter than the one before, all of equal height. South of Ilāvṛta lie Harivarsha, Kiṃpurusha and Bhāratavarsha, bounded in order by Nishadha, Hemakūṭa and Himālaya, ten thousand yojanas high. To the west of Ilāvṛta is the mountain Mālyavān and to the east Gandhamādana, two thousand yojanas in extent, stretching north to Nīla and south to Nishadha; they bound Ketumāla in the west and Bhadrāśva in the east.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 5, Chapter 16

The four mountains, trees, lakes and gardens

As supports of Meru in the four directions, Īśvara made the mountains Mandara, Merumandara, Supārśva and Kumuda, each ten thousand yojanas long and as high. On them in order stand a mango, a jambū, a kadamba and a banyan, like flags on the mountains, eleven thousand yojanas high, their branches spreading as far, their girth a hundred yojanas. On those mountains are four lakes, of milk, honey, sugarcane juice and sweet water, enjoyed by the gandharvas and other upadevatās, to whom the yoga-siddhis come naturally because of them; and four gardens of the devatās, Nandana, Caitraratha, Vaibhrājaka and Sarvatobhadra, where the great devatās gather and sport with their beautiful wives while the gandharvas sing their glory.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 5, Chapter 16

The rivers of Ilāvṛta

  • Aruṇodā. On the summit of Mandara is a mango tree, eleven hundred yojanas high, born in the deva-loka. From its topmost branch fall fruits as large as mountain peaks, tasting like amṛta; they burst, and their sweet, fragrant red juice flows as a river famed as Aruṇodā, “she whose water is red”. Falling from Mandara’s summit, it flows in the eastern part of Ilāvṛta. The yaksha women who are the companions of Devī Pārvatī enjoy its waters, and their limbs become so fragrant that the wind spreads the fragrance for ten yojanas around.
  • The Jambū river and Jāmbūnada. On Merumandara fall jambū fruits as large as an elephant, with very small seeds; they burst, and their juice flows as the Jambū river, which falls from a peak ten thousand yojanas high and flows south as far as Ilāvṛta. The earth of its banks, soaked by its water and dried by wind and sun, changes and becomes the gold called Jāmbūnada, ever the ornament of the devatās; the devatās and gandharvas with their wives wear it as crowns, bracelets and girdles.
  • The honey of Supārśva. On Supārśva a great kadamba stands firmly rooted, and from its hollows flow five streams of honey, each five vyāmas round. Falling from Supārśva’s summit, they flow on the west of Ilāvṛta, heightening its beauty, filling it with fragrance and gladdening its beings; the breath of those who taste them spreads fragrance for a hundred yojanas.
  • Śatavalśa on Kumuda. On Kumuda stands a banyan famed as Śatavalśa, “the one with a hundred branches”. From the aerial roots of its branches come down streams that give whatever is desired: milk, curd, honey, ghee, jaggery, rice and other foods, clothes, beds, seats and ornaments. They fall from Kumuda and enrich the north of Ilāvṛta. Those who enjoy them never suffer wrinkles, grey hair, fatigue, sweat, bad odour, old age, disease, death, cold, heat, pallor or broken limbs, and as long as they live they have only the highest happiness.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 5, Chapter 16

The mountains around Meru and Brahmā’s city

As filaments surround a pericarp, Īśvara made twenty mountains around the base of Meru; the text names Kuraṅga, Kurara, Kusumbha, Vaikaṅka, Trikūṭa, Śiśira, Pataṅga, Rucaka, Nishadha, Śinīvāsa, Kapila, Śaṅkha, Vaidūrya, Jārudhi, Haṃsa, Ṛshabha, Nāga, Kālañjara, Nārada and others. To the east of Meru are Jaṭhara and Devakūṭa, eighteen thousand yojanas long from north to south and two thousand broad and high; to the west Pavana and Pāriyātra; to the south Kailāsa and Karavīra; to the north Triśṛṅga and Makara. Ringed by these eight, the golden mountain shines like a fire ringed by eight samidhs and darbha. The mahātmās say that in the middle of Meru’s summit stands the golden city of Brahmā, square and a crore of yojanas in extent, and around it, each in its own direction, the eight cities of the lokapālas, each a quarter of its size.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 5, Chapter 16

Bhagavān Śiva in Ilāvṛta

Of the varshas of Jambūdvīpa, Bhārata alone is the karmabhūmi; the other eight are bhogabhūmis, abodes of svarga on earth, where men live ten thousand years with the strength of ten thousand elephants, and in all nine Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa, the Purushottama, is near in his forms and spreads his grace. In Ilāvṛta-khaṇḍa Bhagavān Śiva alone is male; there is no other. Devī Pārvatī pronounced a śāpa that any male who enters there would take a woman’s form, and no one who knows this goes there; Śuka promises to tell this later. There crores of women, led by Devī Pārvatī, serve Bhagavān Śiva, and Bhagavān Śiva holds in his one-pointed mind the fourth form of Nārāyaṇa, Saṅkarshaṇa, and worships him with a stuti. In it he bows to Saṅkarshaṇa, the endless one beyond the senses, who lights the world with consciousness; serves his feet, in which the six qualities are full, lordship, the power to protect, fame, Śrī, jñāna and vairāgya; speaks of him as the witness untouched by the mind and its guṇas, who seems to the deluded to have red eyes as if from drinking, and on whose thousand hoods the earth lies like a mustard seed; tells of his own birth from Brahmā and his creation of the devatās, the senses and the elements by the threefold ahaṅkāra, all bound to Parameśvara like birds on a string; and ends: “This world is born from you and dissolves in you: namaskāra to you.”

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 5, Chapter 17

The forest where men become women

Śuka later tells it. Prince Sudyumna, son of Vaivasvata Manu, went hunting with some ministers on a horse from the Sindhu country, following the animals north, and entered the forest called Ilāvṛta at the foot of Meru, where Bhagavān Śiva, the destroyer, sports with Devī Pārvatī. At once he found himself a woman, his horse a mare, and all his followers women too. Parīkshit asked who had given the place that power. Śuka answered: once maharshis of good vows came to the Ilāvṛta forest for the darśana of Rudra, their lustre driving away the darkness of the directions. Devī Pārvatī, in her modesty, rose at once from Rudra’s lap and drew her garment round her, and the maharshis turned back and went to the āśrama of Nara and Nārāyaṇa. Then Bhagavān Rudra, to do what was dear to Devī Pārvatī, declared: “Whoever comes to this place shall become a woman.” Since then men keep a yojana away from the Ilāvṛta forest.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 9, Chapter 1

Sources

  • Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 13
  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 107–108
  • Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 5, Chapters 16–17; Skandha 9, Chapter 1