Bhārata Varṣa

Bhārata Varṣa is the ancient name of the sacred land of India and the lands around it. The Matsya Mahā Purāṇa describes it as lying between the Dakṣiṇa Mahāsamudra (the great southern ocean) and the Himālaya in the north, stretching one thousand yojanas (an ancient measure of distance) from north to south.

It is divided into nine sub-khaṇḍas (regions) and has seven kula-parvatas (main mountain ranges) from which the great rivers flow. Its janapadas (lands and peoples) are grouped into six regions. In the Purāṇas, the central world-continent is Jambū-dvīpa, made up of several varṣas (regions). Of all of them, Bhārata Varṣa alone is the karma-bhūmi, “the land of action”, where dharma, yajña (sacred fire offering) and mokṣa (liberation) can be reached through human effort.

Location and Extent

Bhārata Varṣa lies between the Dakṣiṇa Mahāsamudra (the southern ocean) and the Himālaya, stretching one thousand yojanas from south to north. The sea borders it on three sides, and the Himālaya on the north.

The Nine Sub-Khaṇḍas

Bhārata Varṣa is divided into nine sub-khaṇḍas (regional divisions), each treated as a separate zone of the land:

1. Indra-dvīpa
2. Kaśeru
3. Tāmraparṇa
4. Gabhastimān
5. Nāga
6. Saumya
7. Gandharva
8. Vāruṇa
9. Bhārata (the central region, which gives its name to the whole)

The Seven Kula-Parvatas

Seven great mountain ranges, the kula-parvatas, form the backbone of Bhārata Varṣa:

1. Mahendra
2. Malaya
3. Sahya
4. Śuktimān
5. Ṛkṣavān
6. Vindhya
7. Pāriyātra

From each of these ranges flow the great rivers that water the land and make it holy.

The Janapadas (Peoples of the Regions)

The Matsya Purāṇa groups the peoples of Bhārata Varṣa into six broad regions.

Madhya-deśa (the Central Region)

Kuru, Pāñcāla, Śūrasena, Kāśī, Kuntala, Kosala and related kingdoms of the heartland of the Gaṅgā plain.

Udīcya (the Northern Region)

Bāhlika, Gāndhāra, Yavana, Sindhu, Madra, and the peoples of the north-west and the lands beyond the Sindhu (Indus).

Prācya (the Eastern Region)

Aṅga, Vaṅga, Videha, Magadha, and the peoples of the eastern Gaṅgā plain and Bengal.

Dakṣiṇāpatha (the Southern Region)

Pāṇḍya, Kerala, Cola, Kuntala, Māhiṣaka, and the peoples of the southern peninsula.

Aparānta (the Western Region)

Pulinda, Saurāṣṭra, Arbuda, and the peoples of the western coasts and deserts.

Vindhya-pṛṣṭha and Pārvatīya (Forest and Mountain Peoples)

Communities living on and around the Vindhya range and in other hill country.

Bhārata Varṣa as the Karma-Bhūmi

Of all the varṣas of Jambū-dvīpa, Bhārata Varṣa alone is the karma-bhūmi, the field of action. Here beings who are born through the merit of their past lives have the chance to do dharmic deeds, keep vratas (sacred vows), perform yajñas, visit tīrthas (holy places) and reach mokṣa. The other varṣas of Jambū-dvīpa are bhoga-bhūmis, lands of enjoyment. There, no karma builds up to be worked out, and so there is no chance for spiritual effort. This is why the people of Bhārata Varṣa hold such a rare and precious place in the order of the universe.

Bhārata Varṣa in the Mahābhārata: Bhīṣma Parva (Chapter 9)

The Bhīṣma Parva of the Mahābhārata gives one of the most detailed descriptions of the land of Bhārata Varṣa in all of itihāsa (sacred history). In Chapter 9, Sañjaya describes it to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, covering its mountains, rivers, peoples and spiritual character.

The Seven Kula-Parvatas (Bhīṣma Parva List)

The Bhīṣma Parva names these as the main mountains of Bhārata Varṣa:

1. Malaya
2. Sahya
3. Śuktimān
4. Ṛkṣavat
5. Vindhya
6. Pāriyātra
7. Mahendra (along the coast)

These ranges divide Bhārata Varṣa into its regions and give rise to the great rivers.

The Sacred Rivers

The Bhīṣma Parva lists a large number of rivers sacred to Bhārata Varṣa. Among the most important:

• Great rivers: Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sindhu, Sarasvatī, Śatadru, Candrabhāgā, Irāvatī
• Rivers of the Deccan: Godāvarī, Bhīmarathī, Kṛṣṇā, Kāverī
• Rivers of the centre: Narmadā, Tāpī, Payoṣṇī
• Other rivers named: Vedasmṛti, Kauśikī, Mandākinī, Karṇālinī, Puruṣṇī, Citrotpalā, Mahānadī, Vetravatī

The Peoples: Āryas and Mlecchas

The Bhīṣma Parva sorts the people of Bhārata Varṣa into two broad groups:

Āryas (those who follow Vedic dharma): brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras in the four varṇas, each living by their own dharma in the many janapadas of Āryāvarta.

Mlecchas (those who follow other customs): the Yavanas, Śakas, Kirātas, Nāsikyas, Pauṇḍras, Cīnas, Pulindas, Pulkasas, Andhras, Mahiṣas and Dardas. These were peoples of the outer and border regions who kept their own traditions outside the Vedic way.

This twofold division into Ārya and Mleccha is one of the Mahābhārata’s basic ways of mapping all the people of Bhārata Varṣa.

The Four Yugas in Bhārata Varṣa

In Chapter 10, the Bhīṣma Parva also speaks of how the four yugas (ages) unfold in Bhārata Varṣa. This sets Bhārata Varṣa apart from the other varṣas: it is the only one where the full cycle of four yugas turns. The other varṣas stay in a single yuga for ever. The human lifespan in each yuga is:

Each yuga brings a steady decline in bodily strength, length of life, keeping of vratas and yajñas, and the quality of dharma. The people of the Kṛta Yuga had perfect health, lived fully by dharma and practised much tapas (spiritual discipline). The people of the Kali Yuga live short lives, fall ill easily and lean toward adharma (what is against dharma).

Sources

• Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 113
• Mahābhārata, Bhīṣma Parva, Chapters 9–10