Sukumārī
Sukumārī · su-kumārī, “the tender maiden”
Sukumārī is a river of Śāka-dvīpa, the sixth of the seven dvīpas of the earth. Lomaharshaṇa names it first among the seven rivers of that dvīpa in Chapter 20 of the Brahma Purāṇa, in his account to the munis of the dvīpas that lie beyond Jambūdvīpa. The seven are Sukumārī, Kumārī, Nalinī, Reṇukā, Ikshu, Dhenukā and Gabhasti. They are rivers of great puṇya that take away the fear of pāpa, and they came from svarga.
The rivers of Śāka-dvīpa
Besides the seven rivers there are thousands of small streams and hills. The people who live on Jalada and the other mountains drink the waters of these rivers.
Śāka-dvīpa
Bhavya is the lord of Śāka-dvīpa, and its varshas bear the names of his sons: Jalada, Kumāra, Sukumāra, Manīraka, Kuśamoda, Modāki and Mahādruma. Its varsha mountains are named Udayagiri, Jaladhāra or Raivataka, Śyāma, Ambhogiri, Astikeya and Kesarī. There stands a great tree called Śāka, served by siddhas and gandharvas; when the wind that touches its leaves blows, it gives supreme joy. The janapadas there are peopled by the four varṇas, pure, without fear, without any hindrance and free of disease. Among them there is no loss of dharma, no pleasure and pain, and no going beyond the bounds of śāstra. The four varṇas there are the Magas, who are the brāhmaṇas, the Māgadhas, the kshatriyas, the Mānasas, the vaiśyas, and the Mandagas, the śūdras. The family deity of the people of Śāka-dvīpa is Vishṇu: they worship Śrī Hari in the form of Sūrya, according to the vidhi. Śāka-dvīpa is surrounded by the ocean of milk, of the same measure as the dvīpa.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 20
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 20