Geography of Bhārata-varṣa

Bhārata-varṣa is the ancient name for the land of India and the lands around it. In the Purāṇas, the known world is pictured as a set of great island-continents. The central one is Jambū-dvīpa, which is divided into nine varṣas (regions). Chapter 47 of the Pūrvārdha (first half) of the Kūrma Purāṇa describes Bhārata-varṣa as the southernmost of these regions, nine thousand yojanas (an ancient measure of distance) in extent.

What sets Bhārata-varṣa apart from all the other eight varṣas is that it is the karma-bhūmi, “the land of action”. Only here do the four yugas (ages) turn, only here do actions bear fruit, and only here can liberation be sought. People of all varṇas (social classes) live here and follow many different devas. The chapter names the seven main mountain ranges of Bhārata-varṣa and the great rivers that flow from each, dozens of sacred rivers such as the Sarasvatī, the Gaṅgā (as the Alakanandā), the Yamunā, Narmadā, Godāvarī, Kṛṣṇā, Kāverī and Tāmraparṇī. All of them are said to wash away the pāpa (wrongdoing) people have gathered. The other eight varṣas know no disease, sorrow, hunger or worry, and this contrast is what makes Bhārata uniquely suited to earning merit.

Why Bhārata-varṣa Is Special

Of the nine varṣas of Jambū-dvīpa described in the Kūrma Purāṇa, Bhārata-varṣa holds a special and surprisingly high place. The other eight varṣas are free of disease, sorrow, hunger and unrest. Their people live for ten to thirteen thousand years in comfort. Yet they are not karma-bhūmis. Only in Bhārata-varṣa do the four yugas, Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali, take place. The text says: “These four yugas do not exist anywhere else.” This makes Bhārata-varṣa the only land in Jambū-dvīpa where karmaphala (the fruits of action) build up, and so the only land where both bondage and mokṣa (liberation) are truly at stake. The Kūrma Purāṇa calls Bhārata-varṣa the “adhikāra-kṣetra”, the field where human beings become eligible for liberation.

Size and Layout

Bhārata-varṣa is described like this:

  • Extent: nine thousand yojanas across
  • North to south: one thousand yojanas (the full length of the land)
  • Eastern edge: home of the Kirātas (forest-dwelling peoples of the east)
  • Western edge: home of the Yavanas (peoples of the west)
  • Interior: brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras live in the central regions

The text divides the land into nine khaṇḍas (parts), though it does not name them all here. The nine come from the ninefold division made by Āgnīdhra and are only hinted at. The inner regions match the major kingdoms (janapadas) of ancient Bhārata.

The Seven Mountain Ranges

The text names seven great mountain ranges (parvatas) of Bhārata-varṣa, from which all the sacred rivers come down:

  1. Mahendra
  2. Malaya
  3. Sahya
  4. Śuktimān
  5. Ṛkṣa-parvata
  6. Vindhya
  7. Pāriyātra

These seven are called the kulācalas, the founding mountain ranges of the land.

The Sacred Rivers and Their Mountains

The Kūrma Purāṇa lists the sacred rivers of Bhārata-varṣa in order, grouping each river with the mountain it rises from.

Rivers from Himavat (the Himālaya)

Śatadru (Sutlej), Candrabhāgā (Chenab), Sarayū, Yamunā, Irāvatī (Ravi), Vitastā (Jhelum), Vipāśā (Beas), Devikā, Kuhū, Gomatī, Dhūtapāpā, Bāhudā, Dṛṣadvatī, Kauśikī and Lohinī.

Rivers from the Pāriyātra Range

Vedasmṛti, Vedavatī, Pratighnī, Tridivā, Varṇāśā, Candanā, Carmaṇvatī, Surā, Vidiśā and Netravatī.

Rivers from the Ṛkṣavat Range

Narmadā, Surasā, Śoṇa, Daśārṇā, Mahānadī, Mandākinī, Citrakūṭā, Tāmasī, Piśācikā, Citrotpalā, Viśālā, Mañjulā and Palopāhinī. These rivers are said to destroy all manuṣya-pāpa, the pāpa of human beings.

Rivers from the Vindhya Range

Tāpī, Payoṣṇī, Nirvindhyā, Śīghrodā, the great Veṇṇā and Vaitaraṇī, Balākā, Kumudvatī, Mahāgaurī, Durgā and Antaḥśilā. These rivers are said to destroy the pāpa of those who bathe in them at once.

Rivers from the Sahya Range (Western Ghāṭs)

Godāvarī, Bhīmarathī, Kṛṣṇaveṇī (Kṛṣṇā), Vaśyatā, Tuṅgabhadrā, Suprayogā and Kāverī: the great rivers of Dakṣiṇāpatha (the South), flowing southward.

Rivers from the Malaya Range

Ṛtumālā, Tāmraparṇī, Puṇyavatī and Utpalāvatī. These rivers are said to carry cool waters and are especially praised for their purity.

Rivers from the Gandhamādana Range

Ṛṣikulyā and Trisāmā.

Rivers from the Śuktimān Range

Kṣiprā, Palāśinī, Ṛṣīkā and Vaṃśadhāriṇī. These are said to destroy all pāpa.

The Peoples and Janapadas of Bhārata-varṣa

The text names the regions and peoples who live along these sacred rivers and across the land:

  • Northern and central regions: Kuru, Pāñcāla, Madhyadeśa (the middle country) and its many communities
  • Eastern regions: Kāmarūpa, the Puṇḍras, Kaliṅgas, Magadhas and the whole range of eastern peoples
  • Southern regions: all the peoples of Dakṣiṇāpatha, including the Āndhras; the Aparānta coast; Saurāṣṭra, the Śūdras and the Ābudas
  • Western and northern regions: the Mālakas, Mālavas, the dwellers of the Pāriyātra range, the Sauvīras, Sindhus, Hūṇas, Mālas and Bālas
  • Other peoples named: the Mādras, Rāmas and Pārasīkas (Persians), among others

The text says that the peoples of these regions drink the waters of the sacred rivers listed above and live on their banks.

The Four Varṇas in Bhārata-varṣa

In the other eight varṣas, the people have their own special names but still follow a fourfold social order. For Bhārata-varṣa, the Kūrma Purāṇa says:

  • Brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas live in the interior (the middle regions).
  • The four varṇas follow their own callings: yajña (sacred fire offering) for brāhmaṇas, yuddha (war) for kṣatriyas, vāṇijya (trade) for vaiśyas, and śūdra-dharma (service) for śūdras.
  • The people honour many devas and perform many kinds of karma. They are not limited to a single deva, as in the other varṣas.
  • The longest āyus (lifespan) is one hundred years.

This is unlike the other eight varṣas, where people live for thousands of years in bliss but have no chance to perform the yajña, tapas (spiritual discipline) and karma that lead to liberation. The Kūrma Purāṇa says that Kimpuruṣa-varṣa and the other seven great varṣas are completely free of śoka, āyāsa, kṣudhā and udvega (sorrow, toil, hunger and anxiety). Yet without karma there is no mokṣa. Bhārata alone is the field where liberation is actually won.

Bhārata-varṣa and the Other Varṣas

Taken together, the Kūrma Purāṇa’s description of the nine varṣas draws a strong contrast:

  • The eight varṣas other than Bhārata are praised for their plenty: long life, no disease, no decline through the yugas, and each has its own presiding deva.
  • Bhārata-varṣa alone has the full working of kāla (time) through the cycle of yugas, the full weight of karma, and the full chance of liberation through dharma, jñāna (knowledge) and bhakti (devotion).

This is the ancient teaching of the Purāṇas that Bhārata-varṣa, the Indian subcontinent and its sacred places, is the uniquely blessed karma-bhūmi. Here all the streams of dharma finally flow, and here Parameśvara (the Supreme) can be reached most directly through sādhana (spiritual practice).

Bhārata-varṣa in the Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa (Chapter 16)

The sixteenth chapter of the Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa gives its own detailed description of Bhārata-varṣa. It broadly agrees with the Kūrma Purāṇa, but adds more detail on the nine sub-regions, the lists of rivers and the janapadas.

Size and Direction

  • Location: north of the ocean and south of the Himālaya
  • North to south: 1,000 yojanas
  • East to west: 9,000 yojanas
  • Eastern edge: home of the Kirātas (forest-dwelling peoples of the east)
  • Western edge: home of the Yavanas (peoples of the west)
  • Interior: brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas live in the central regions, following varṇāśrama-dharma (the duties of one’s class and stage of life)

The Nine Sub-Regions of Bhārata

The Brahmāṇḍa names nine sub-regions of Bhārata-varṣa, pictured as nine island-like lands within the larger continent:

  1. Indra-dvīpa
  2. Keśarumanta
  3. Tāmravarṇa
  4. Gabhastimanta
  5. Nāga-dvīpa
  6. Saumya
  7. Gāndharva
  8. Vāruṇa
  9. The ninth, not named in this passage, which reaches to the sea

The Seven Kula-Parvatas of Bhārata

The Brahmāṇḍa names seven great mountain ranges within Bhārata-varṣa, from which the major rivers flow:

  1. Mahendra (the eastern coastal range)
  2. Malaya (the southern range)
  3. Sahya (the Western Ghāṭs)
  4. Śuktimanta
  5. Ṛkṣavanta (the Ṛkṣa and Vindhya system)
  6. Vindhya
  7. Pāriyātra (also called Pāripātra; the western range)

Many rivers flow from each of these ranges, including the Godāvarī, Kṛṣṇā and others from the eastern ranges, and the Narmadā, Sindhu and others from the western ranges. The Brahmāṇḍa gives a detailed list of rivers for each range, naming dozens of sacred rivers across Bhārata.

Major Janapadas and Peoples

The Brahmāṇḍa chapter lists the great regions and peoples of Bhārata-varṣa, including:

  • Kuru, Pāñcāla, Kāśī, Kosala, Magadha and Kaliṅga: the kingdoms of the centre and the Gaṅgā plain
  • Many other peoples living in different parts of the land

This full list matches the usual geography of the Purāṇas for the Indian subcontinent. It confirms that Bhārata-varṣa is the only region where the cycle of yugas turns, and where karma, dharma and liberation are fully in play.

Sources

  • Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 47
  • Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrva Bhāga, Chapter 16