Sapta-Dvīpa: The Seven Island-Continents

The Purāṇas (ancient Sanskrit histories) describe the earth, or bhū-maṇḍala (the circle of the earth), as made up of seven great island-continents. Together they are called the Sapta-Dvīpa, also written Saptadvīpa, from sapta (seven) and dvīpa (island or continent). Each dvīpa is surrounded by its own ocean. Each is also divided into smaller regions called varshas, named after the children of the king who ruled it. The Brahmāṇḍa, Vāyu, Matsya and Kūrma Purāṇas and the Bhīshma Parva of the Mahābhārata all describe them.

This division was made at the start of the Svāyambhuva Manvantara (the age of the first Manu) by King Priyavrata. He gave one dvīpa to each of his seven sons. The seven dvīpas together form the whole inhabited world. Jambū-dvīpa, the land we live in, lies at the centre, with golden Mount Meru at its heart, and Pushkara-dvīpa lies at the outer edge. Beyond it the Lokāloka mountain marks the line between the lit world and the darkness outside.

The division by Priyavrata

The Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa (Pūrva Bhāga, Chapter 14) says that in every manvantara (age of a Manu), the people of the seven dvīpas are born again with the same names, forms and natures. Creation repeats itself in an orderly way.

The division of the bhū-maṇḍala was made in the first Tretā Yuga of the Svāyambhuva Manvantara by Priyavrata. The Brahmāṇḍa calls him the pautra (grandson) of Svāyambhuva Manu. He was the son of Kardama’s daughter, and with her he had ten sons and two daughters. Seven of the ten sons were made rulers of the seven dvīpas:

The other three sons, Agnibāhu, Medha and Satra, were not given dvīpas. Priyavrata’s two daughters were Samrāṭ and Kukshī.

The Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha, Chapter 40) gives the same seven sons and the same seven dvīpas, which Priyavrata gave them as kingdoms. It calls Priyavrata the son of Svāyambhuva Manu. It says each son in turn divided his dvīpa among his own seven sons, and the seven varshas of each dvīpa are named after them. Āgnīdhra divided Jambū-dvīpa into nine parts for his nine sons.

Once his sons were made kings, the earth filled with Priyavrata’s sons, grandsons and later descendants. All of them had great strength and tapas (spiritual power gained through discipline). After pralaya (the dissolution of the world), the same seven dvīpas are set up again by the families of the same seven rulers in every new manvantara.

The seven dvīpas and their oceans

The seven dvīpas are set out as rings, one around the other, from Jambū-dvīpa at the centre outwards. Chapter 19 of the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa gives an exact rule: each dvīpa, from Plaksha out to Pushkara, is twice as large as the one inside it, and each ocean is as wide as the dvīpa it surrounds. The Kūrma Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha, Chapter 45) also makes each dvīpa twice the size of the one inside it, gives the same oceans for the first six, and names the devatā honoured in each dvīpa.

The Brahmāṇḍa gives both names, Jala-sāgara and Svādūdaka-sāgara, for the ocean around Pushkara-dvīpa. The Kūrma Purāṇa calls it the Śuddhodaka (pure water) ocean. The Matsya Purāṇa and the Bhīshma Parva call it the Svādu-jala (fresh water).

In its overview, the Matsya Mahā Purāṇa sets out the seven dvīpas as rings in the order Jambū, Plaksha, Śālmali, Kuśa, Krauñca, Śāka and Pushkara, with Jambū innermost and each of the others twice the size of the one inside it. It names their oceans the Lavaṇa-sāgara (salt ocean), Ikshu-sāgara (sugarcane ocean), Surā-sāgara (ocean of wine), Ghṛta-sāgara (ocean of ghee), Dadhi-sāgara (ocean of curds), Kshīra-sāgara (ocean of milk) and Svādu-jala (fresh water).

The Bhīshma Parva of the Mahābhārata lists the seven oceans as Lavaṇa (salt), Ikshurasa (sugarcane juice), Surā (wine), Ghṛta (ghee), Dadhi (curds), Kshīra (milk) and Svādu-jala (fresh water), each surrounding its own dvīpa.

The Matsya Purāṇa’s chapter-by-chapter order

In its chapter-by-chapter descriptions, the Matsya Purāṇa takes the dvīpas outward from Jambū-dvīpa in this order, with these oceans:

The Matsya Purāṇa says each dvīpa has its own ocean, mountains, varshas and rivers, and its own cycle of time. It calls Jambū-dvīpa, at the centre, the karma-bhūmi: the land of action, where deeds bear fruit. The outer dvīpas are bhoga-bhūmis, lands of enjoyment, where lifespans and the ability to follow dharma vary.

The devatā of each dvīpa

The Kūrma Purāṇa says the people of each dvīpa give their devotion to a particular devatā, and they are rewarded with one of the forms of closeness to that devatā: sāyujya (union), sārūpya (sharing the same form), sālokya (living in the same world) or sāmīpya (living near). The devatā of each dvīpa is given in the table above, and the reward in the section on each dvīpa below.

Jambū-dvīpa: the central continent

Jambū-dvīpa is the most sacred of the seven dvīpas and lies at the centre. The Kūrma Purāṇa calls it the central and most important dvīpa, with the great golden Meru at its heart. It was ruled by Āgnīdhra, the eldest and most powerful of Priyavrata’s sons. The Brahmāṇḍa says Āgnīdhra had nine sons, who became rulers of the nine varshas of Jambū-dvīpa:

After making all nine sons kings of their varshas, Āgnīdhra himself left to practise tapas.

The Kūrma Purāṇa names Āgnīdhra’s nine sons Nābhi, Kimpurusha, Hari, Ilāvṛta, Ramya, Hiraṇvān, Kuru, Bhadrāśva and Ketumāla. It names the nine varshas Bhārata (the southernmost, south of Himavat), Kimpurusha, Hari, Ilāvṛta (in the centre, around Meru), Ramya, Hiraṇmaya, Uttara-Kuru, Bhadrāśva (east of Meru) and Ketumāla (west of Meru).

The Matsya Purāṇa calls Jambū-dvīpa the innermost and most important dvīpa. Mount Meru stands at its centre, and Bhārata Varsha (the land of India) lies at its southern end. The Matsya says Jambū-dvīpa contains Bhārata Varsha, with its nine sub-regions (khaṇḍas) and seven kula-parvatas (main mountain ranges), as the karma-bhūmi of the whole order of the universe.

The eight varshas of ease

The Brahmāṇḍa describes the eight varshas of Jambū-dvīpa other than Bhārata-varsha, starting with Kimpurusha-varsha, as lands of natural perfection. In these eight varshas:

• Everything is gained without effort, and all beings live at ease
• There is no viparīta (hardship) and no pralaya touching daily life
• There is no fear of jarā (old age) or mṛtyu (death)
• There is neither dharma nor adharma (wrong conduct), and no one is higher or lower than another
• There is no yuga-pariṇāma: the cycle of the four ages (Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali) does not happen here

In the next chapter (Chapter 15) the Brahmāṇḍa describes several of these varshas in detail. The Kūrma Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha, Chapter 47) also describes the people of each varsha, their food and their lifespan.

Kimpurusha-varsha lies between the Himavat and Hemakūṭa mountains. Its people have a golden colour, kāñcana-prabhā, shining like pure gold. They live ten thousand years. They eat the fruit of the kadali (banana) tree, a great divine tree here that holds every flavour. The people of Kimpurusha-varsha know no suffering and live in complete ease. The Kūrma Purāṇa says they are golden in colour, eat jujube fruit, live ten thousand years and honour the four-armed devatā with devotion.

Harivarsha lies between Hemakūṭa and Nishadha. Its people have a silver colour, rajata-prabhā. They live eleven thousand years. They live on ishu-rasa, the juice of the ishu (a plant like sugarcane), which flows here in plenty. As in Kimpurusha, there is no cycle of yugas and no hardship. The Kūrma Purāṇa says the people of Hari-varsha are silver in colour, drink sugarcane juice and live ten thousand years, and that they offer pūjā to Nārāyaṇa, the eternal one, in a splendid divine palace.

Ilāvṛta-varsha is the central varsha, the innermost of all nine, with Mount Meru at its centre. Its people eat the fruit of the divine Jambū tree and live thirteen thousand years. The Kūrma Purāṇa says they are the colour of lotuses, eat Jambū fruit and live thirteen thousand years.

The Jambū tree is enormous. The Brahmāṇḍa says it stands one thousand yojanas high (a yojana is an ancient measure of distance), its trunk is one hundred yojanas around, and its shade reaches eleven yojanas in every direction. Its fruits are as big as elephants’ heads. When they fall and burst, their juice soaks into the earth and becomes the famous Jambū river, a river of pure gold called jāmbūnada. This Jāmbūnada gold is the most precious metal in the three worlds, and siddhas (perfected beings) and divine beings wear ornaments made from it. The Jambū tree gives the whole continent its name, Jambū-dvīpa.

The Kūrma Purāṇa places the great Jambū tree on Meru and says its fruits are as big as a great elephant. When these fruits fall, their juice flows down the mountain as a stream called the Jambū-nadī. Those who drink from it are free from sweat, bad odour, old age and the weakening of the senses. Where the river’s soil mixes with the Jambū juice and is dried by the wind, it becomes Jāmbūnada gold, the ornament of the siddhas.

Ketumāla-varsha (at Gandhamādana): a great valley (gandikā) on the western side of Mālyavanta runs thirty-two thousand yojanas from east to west and thirty-four thousand yojanas in length. The people of Ketumāla are dark in colour and very strong. The women are beautiful, with skin the colour of dark blue lotus petals. A divine panasa (jackfruit) tree grows here that holds all six flavours. It is a divine being born of Brahmā, able to move at will and as fast as thought. Drinking the juice of its fruit, the people live together for ten thousand years. The Kūrma Purāṇa says everyone in Ketumāla eats jackfruit, the women shine like lotuses, and they live ten thousand years.

Bhadrāśva-varsha (at Mālyavanta): a similar great valley lies on the eastern side of Mālyavanta. Its people are fair in colour, full of energy and strength. The women have the colour of white lotuses. They are bright as the moon, cool to the touch, and carry the scent of blue water-lilies. The people live ten thousand years. The sacred tree here is the kālāma (mango). The Kūrma Purāṇa says the men of Bhadrāśva are white and the women shine like moonlight; they eat cooked rice and live ten thousand years.

Ramyaka-varsha lies between the Śveta and Nīla mountains. Its people are given to enjoyment (ratiprādhāna), yet are blameless and free from old age and decay. They are fair, beautiful and of noble birth. A great reddish nyagrodha (fig) tree grows here. Drinking the juice of its fruit, these very fortunate people live happily as the finest of men for eleven thousand five hundred years. The Kūrma Purāṇa says the men and women of Ramyaka are silver in colour and live eleven thousand five hundred years.

Hiraṇvata-varsha (also called Hiraṇmaya) lies between the Śṛṅgavanta and Śveta mountains. Its people are yakshas (a class of semi-divine beings): very powerful, shining brightly, high-spirited, wealthy and beautiful. They live eleven thousand five hundred years. The sacred tree here is the lakuca (wild lime). The Śṛṅgavanta mountain has three great peaks: one of maṇi (jewels), one of hiraṇya (gold) and one of every kind of precious gem, each decorated with fine celestial dwellings. The Kūrma Purāṇa says the people of Hiraṇmaya are golden in colour and sāttvika (pure, calm) in nature, eat coconut and bilva fruit, and live eleven thousand five hundred years.

Kuru-varsha lies north of Śṛṅgavanta and south of the northern ocean. It is a pure and holy land that the siddhas often visit and serve. All its trees bear fruit full of honey, and they give flowers, fruit and leaves at all times. Some trees give clothes and ornaments through their fruit. Other very beautiful trees fulfil every wish and give fragrant, delicious honey that flows like milk. There are also kshīriṇī trees, very pleasing, that always give a nectar-like milk rich in all six flavours.

The ground of Kuru-varsha is maṇimaya (set with gems), with fine golden sand. It holds all the joys of every season. It is clean, free from mud and dust, and auspicious. Beings who come down from devaloka (the world of the devas) because of their stored puṇya (merit) are born here. All are fair from birth and stay young. The women are as beautiful as the apsarās (celestial dancers). Children are born as twins, a boy and a girl together. They grow up side by side and are alike in conduct, looks and love. They are always devoted to each other, as inseparable as a pair of cakravāka birds, free from illness and grief, and always happy. They drink the milk of the kshīriṇī trees, live fourteen thousand five hundred years, and never desire another’s spouse. The Kūrma Purāṇa says the people of Kuru-varsha are dark in colour, eat grains of rice, live thirteen thousand five hundred years, and always offer pūjā to Mahādeva Śiva.

Of Bhārata-varsha, the Kūrma Purāṇa says its people are of many colours and honour many devatās, and the longest lifespan there is one hundred years. It is the karma-bhūmi, the land where actions bear fruit.

Who lives on the great mountains

Chapter 17 of the Brahmāṇḍa says which divine and semi-divine beings live on or around each of the kula-parvatas (great boundary mountains) of Jambū-dvīpa:

Each range is the home of one class of beings, and the devas live at the top of creation on Meru.

The layout of Jambū-dvīpa (Chapter 15)

Chapter 15 of the Brahmāṇḍa gives detailed measurements for Jambū-dvīpa. The continent measures one lakh (100,000) yojanas across. It is surrounded by the Lavaṇa-sāgara (salt ocean), which is as wide as Jambū-dvīpa itself.

The six kula-parvatas

Six great boundary ranges, called kula-parvatas or varsha-parvatas, separate the nine varshas of Jambū-dvīpa. Each range runs from east to west across the whole continent. Its eastern end sinks into the eastern ocean and its western end into the western ocean.

• Himavat: mostly covered in ice and snow; separates Bhārata from Kimpurusha
• Hemakūṭa: full of gold; separates Kimpurusha from Harivarsha
• Nishadha: very large and pleasant in every season; separates Harivarsha from Ilāvṛta
• Nīla: made of vaidūrya (cat’s-eye gem); separates Ilāvṛta from Ramyaka
• Śveta: golden and white; separates Ramyaka from Hiraṇvata
• Śṛṅgavanta: golden, with the colours of a peacock’s feathers; separates Hiraṇvata from Kuru

The Nīla and Nishadha ranges are each two thousand two hundred yojanas long. The Śveta and Hemakūṭa are each nine thousand yojanas long. The Himavat and Śṛṅgavanta are each eighty thousand yojanas long. All the ranges are two thousand yojanas high and two thousand yojanas wide. Great ṛshis, siddhas and cāraṇas (celestial bards) visit all of them. The gap between one range and the next is nine thousand yojanas.

The Kūrma Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha, Chapter 45) also divides the nine varshas of Jambū-dvīpa by six mountain ranges: Himavat (the Himālaya), Hemakūṭa and Nishadha south of Meru, and Nīla, Śveta and Śṛṅgī north of Meru. It says each varsha is nine thousand yojanas across, and Ilāvṛta-varsha, around Meru in the centre, is likewise nine thousand yojanas on all four sides.

The side ranges: Mālyavanta and Gandhamādana

Two great ranges stand on the east and west sides of Mount Meru, running from north to south:

• Mālyavanta lies on the eastern side of Meru, from Nīla to Nishadha. It is twenty-four thousand yojanas long and forms the eastern border of Ilāvṛta-varsha.
• Gandhamādana lies on the western side. It is the same length and size as Mālyavanta and forms the western border of Ilāvṛta-varsha.

These two ranges frame Meru on the east and west. Jambū-dvīpa is shaped like a vedī (a fire altar). Nishadha and its partner range form the southern half of this vedī, and the Nīla range forms the northern half.

Meru: size and colours

The Brahmāṇḍa gives these measurements for Mount Meru:

• Height above the earth: 64,000 yojanas (the Brahmāṇḍa’s figure; the Bhāgavata gives 84,000)
• Depth below the earth: 16,000 yojanas
• Width at the summit: 32,000 yojanas at the top; 16,000 yojanas lower down
• Full circumference (paridhi): 48,000 yojanas measured as a circle, or 64,000 yojanas measured as a square

Meru is round. It shines like the rising sun and is made entirely of svarṇa (gold). At its centre is an inner Ilāvṛta-parvata nine thousand yojanas wide. Like a vedī, its southern half faces south and its northern half faces north. It stands in the middle like a smokeless fire, as the central pillar of the world.

The four faces of Meru match the four varṇas (social groups) by colour:

• East: śveta (white), for the Brāhmaṇa
• North: rakta (red), for the Kshatriya
• South: pīta (yellow), for the Vaiśya
• West: śṛṅga (dark, the colour of peacock feathers), for the Śūdra

The four main regions of Jambū-dvīpa follow Meru’s four directions: Bhadrāśva to the east, Bhārata to the south, Ketumāla to the west and Kuru to the north.

The royal line of Bhārata-varsha

Nābhi received the southern varsha of Jambū-dvīpa, and from him came the founding royal line of Bhārata-varsha. Nābhi and his wife Merudevī had a son, Ṛshabhadeva. He was the first of all kshatriyas (the warrior and ruling class) and a great rājarshi (royal ṛshi). Ṛshabhadeva’s eldest son among his hundred sons was Bharata. Ṛshabhadeva made Bharata king of the southern land and himself took up mahāpravrajyā (great renunciation). From then on, the southern varsha has been known as Bhārata-varsha.

The Brahmāṇḍa traces the royal line of Bhārata-varsha in detail:

Bharata → Sumati → Tejasa → Indradyumna → Parameshṭhi → Pratihāra → Pratihartā → Unnata → Bhūma → Uddītha → Prastavī → Vibhu → Pṛthu → Nakta → Gaya → Nara → Virāṭ → Mahāvīrya → Dhīmān → Mahanta → Bhauvana → Tvashṭā → Viraja → Rajasa → Śatajit

Śatajit had one hundred sons, all of them kings. From them came all the peoples of the earth. The whole of Bhārata-varsha, with its seven dvīpas, belonged to their family. In the early Tretā Yuga of the Svāyambhuva Manvantara, these rulers, in their hundreds and thousands, governed the land. Devas, ṛshis, pitṛs, gandharvas, rākshasas, yakshas, bhūtas, piśācas, manushyas (humans), mṛgas (animals) and pakshīs (birds) all arose from this first line as creation unfolded through the yugas.

The outer dvīpas

The Brahmāṇḍa (Chapter 14) says that the people of the five dvīpas from Plaksha to Śāka all follow varṇāśrama-dharma (the duties of one’s social group and stage of life). In all of them, dharma is the main principle that holds society together. In these five dvīpas everyone always shares equally in happiness (sukha), length of life (āyurdāya), beauty (rūpa), strength (bala) and dharma.

Chapter 19 of the Brahmāṇḍa adds that in all five dvīpas from Plaksha to Śāka, life is equally excellent. Each dvīpa has seven mountains and seven great rivers, one for each varsha. The people follow varṇāśrama-dharma. There is no mixing of varṇas and no falling away from dharma. There is no famine and no fear of old age or illness, and everyone is healthy, strong and beautiful. The cycle of yugas does not happen here; life is always like the Tretā Yuga. People in all five dvīpas live five thousand years. Each dvīpa has a sacred great tree at its centre that gives it its name: the plaksha (fig tree), the śālmalī (silk-cotton tree), the kuśa-stambha (clump of kuśa grass), the krauñca mountain and the śāka tree.

Plaksha-dvīpa (ruled by Medhātithi)

Medhātithi ruled Plaksha-dvīpa. The Brahmāṇḍa gives his seven sons and their varshas:

The seven varshas of Plaksha-dvīpa are equal to one another in glory. In the first Tretā Yuga of the Svāyambhuva Manvantara, Medhātithi’s sons divided this dvīpa among themselves and settled it.

The Kūrma Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha, Chapter 49) says Plaksha-dvīpa surrounds Jambū-dvīpa and is itself surrounded by the Ikshurasa (sugarcane juice) ocean. It has seven kula-parvatas: Gomeda, Candra, Nārada, Dundubhi, Maṇimān, Megha-niḥsvana and Vaibhrāja. Its seven rivers are the Anutaptā, Śikhā, Vipāpā, Tridivā, Kṛtā, Amṛtā and Sukṛtā, purifying rivers that flow to the sea. There is no cycle of yugas here; everyone lives long and is free from disease. The four varṇas are called Āryaka, Kururu, Videha and Bhāva. Īśvara is honoured here, and the reward of their devotion is sārūpya with Soma (the moon).

Śālmali-dvīpa (ruled by Vapushmān)

Vapushmān, whom the Brahmāṇḍa also calls Vasu, ruled Śālmali-dvīpa. His seven sons, who lived by the rules of the āśramas (the stages of life), ruled its seven varshas:

The Kūrma Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha, Chapter 49) says Śālmali-dvīpa surrounds Plaksha and is surrounded by the Surā (wine) ocean. Its seven kula-parvatas are Kumuda, Annada, Balāhaka, Droṇa, Kaṃsa, Mahisha and Kakudmān. Its rivers are the Yoni, Toyā, Vitṛshṇā, Candrā, Śuklā, Vimocanī and Nivṛtti. The people are free from greed and anger, and no cycle of yugas works here. Vāyu is honoured, and their reward is sārūpya and sālokya with Vāyu. The four varṇas here are the Kapilas (brāhmaṇas), the red-coloured (kshatriyas), the yellow (vaiśyas) and the dark-skinned (śūdras).

The Matsya Purāṇa says Śālmali-dvīpa is twice the size of Krauñca and is surrounded by the Dadhi-sāgara (the ocean of curds). It has three parvatas and three varshas. The people of Śālmali live for thirty thousand years. All beings there are equal: there are no differences of karma, dharma or social rank, and no one gathers puṇya or pāpa (sin).

Kuśa-dvīpa (ruled by Jyotishmān)

Jyotishmān had seven mighty sons who ruled the seven varshas of Kuśa-dvīpa. The Brahmāṇḍa names them:

The Kūrma Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha, Chapter 49) says Kuśa-dvīpa surrounds Śālmali and is surrounded by the Ghṛta (ghee) ocean. Its seven parvatas are Vidruma, Hema, Dyutimān, Pushpavān, Kuśeśaya, Hari and Mandara. Its seven rivers are the Dhūmapāpā, Śivā, Pavitrā, Sammitā, Vidyutprabhā, Rāmā and Mahānadī, with hundreds of other pure streams. Brahmā is honoured here through yajña (sacrificial offering). The four varṇas have their own names: brāhmaṇas are Draviṇas, kshatriyas are Śushmas, vaiśyas are Stobhas and śūdras are Mundehas. The reward is sāyujya, sārūpya and sālokya with Brahmā.

The Matsya Purāṇa says Kuśa-dvīpa is twice the size of Śāka and is surrounded by the Surā-sāgara (the ocean of wine). It has seven parvatas: Vidrumoccaya, Unnata or Hema, Valāhaka or Dyuti, Droṇa or Pushpavān, Kaṅka or Kuśeśaya, Mahisha or Hari, and Kakudmān or Mandara. It has seven matching varshas and seven great rivers.

The Bhīshma Parva of the Mahābhārata says Kuśa-dvīpa is surrounded by an ocean twice its size. Its people live for a thousand years. It has seven varshas and seven sacred mountains.

Krauñca-dvīpa (ruled by Dyutimān)

Dyutimān, ruler of Krauñca-dvīpa, had seven sons. The Brahmāṇḍa names them and their varshas:

The seven varshas of Krauñca-dvīpa are called bhāsvan (brilliant) and were known far and wide.

The Kūrma Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha, Chapter 49) says Krauñca-dvīpa surrounds Kuśa and is surrounded by the Dadhi (curds) ocean. Its seven kula-parvatas are Krauñca, Vāmanaka, Adhikārika, Devābda, Viveda, Puṇḍarīka and Dundubhisvana. Its rivers are the Gaurī, Kumudvatī, Sandhyā, Rātri, Manojavā, Khyobhī and Puṇḍarīkākshā. The four varṇas are Pushkala, Pushkara, Dhanya and Tishya. The people honour Maheśvara through yajña, dāna (giving), śama (calm of mind), vrata (vows), upavāsa (fasting), homa (fire offering) and pitṛ-tarpaṇa (water offerings to the ancestors). The Kūrma Purāṇa declares that the rarest and most precious rewards, sāyujya, sārūpya, sālokya and sāmīpya with Śiva, are won here through Śiva’s grace (atidurlabha, very hard to gain).

The Matsya Purāṇa says Krauñca-dvīpa is twice the size of Kuśa and is surrounded by the Ghṛta-sāgara (the ocean of ghee, clarified butter). It has seven parvatas and seven varshas. Its seven rivers include the Gaurī, Kumudā, Sandhyā, Rātri, Manoramā, Khyāti and Puṇḍarīkā.

The Bhīshma Parva describes Krauñca-dvīpa with seven varshas, its ocean and its mountains. It holds sacred tīrthas (holy places).

Śāka-dvīpa (ruled by Havya)

Havya, ruler of Śāka-dvīpa, had seven sons. The Brahmāṇḍa says each gave his name to one of the seven varshas of Śāka-dvīpa:

The Kūrma Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha, Chapter 49) says Śāka-dvīpa surrounds Krauñca and is surrounded by the Kshīra (milk) ocean. Within that ocean of milk lies Śveta-dvīpa, which holds Nārāyaṇa’s own city. The kula-parvatas of Śāka-dvīpa are Udaya, Raivata, Śyāma, Kāshṭha, Āmbikeya, Ramya and Kesarī. Its seven rivers are the Sukumārī, Kumārī, Nalinī, Veṇukā, Ikshukā, Dhenukā and Gabhasti. The people drink from these rivers and live free from disease and pain, without rāga (attachment) or dvesha (aversion). The four varṇas are Mṛga, Magadha, Mānasa and Mandaga. All of them honour the sun, Sūrya, through vrata and upavāsa. The reward is sāyujya, sāmīpya, sārūpya and sālokya with Sūrya.

The Matsya Purāṇa says Śāka-dvīpa is twice the size of Jambū-dvīpa and is surrounded by the Kshīra-sāgara, the ocean of milk. It has seven mountains and seven varshas. Its seven parvatas are Meru or Udaya, Jaladha or Candra, Nārada or Durga, Śyāma or Dundubhi, Āstagiri or Amṛta, Āmbikeya or Sumanas, and Vibhrāja or Keśava. The seven rivers of Śāka-dvīpa are all branches of the Gaṅgā. In Śāka-dvīpa the dharma of the Tretā Yuga holds at all times: the people there never fall below the standard of the second age of the world.

The Bhīshma Parva also says Śāka-dvīpa is twice the size of Jambū-dvīpa and is surrounded by the Kshīra-sāgara. It has seven mountains (Meru is counted as one), whose names include Malaya, Jaladhāra, Raivataka, Śyāma, Durga and Kesara. The Bhīshma Parva says that Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself lives in Śāka-dvīpa.

Śveta-dvīpa in the ocean of milk

Within the Kshīra ocean, the Kūrma Purāṇa describes Śveta-dvīpa, the island of the white-bodied devotees of Nārāyaṇa. White-skinned beings live there in constant devotion to Nārāyaṇa. They are free from disease, sorrow, anger, greed and fear. All of them have four arms and hold the śaṅkha (conch), cakra (discus) and gadā (mace); they wear yellow garments and bear the Śrīvatsa mark on their chests. Some among them are great devotees of Śiva, who wear the tripuṇḍra (three lines of sacred ash), smear themselves with bhasma and ride on Garuḍa. All are close attendants of Vishṇu.

At the centre of Śveta-dvīpa stands Nārāyaṇa’s own splendid city, the Nārāyaṇa-pura. It has golden walls, pavilions of crystal and gems, hundreds of gateways, streams and ponds, and thousands of devotees singing kīrtana (devotional songs). Within it the supreme Vishṇu, the Parabrahma Vāsudeva, rests on the Śesha-śayyā (the bed of the serpent Śesha), while ṛshis such as Sanandana meditate on him.

Gomeda-dvīpa

In its chapter-by-chapter descriptions, the Matsya Purāṇa names a Gomeda-dvīpa. It is twice the size of Śālmali and is surrounded by the Svādu-jala (fresh-water) ocean. It holds two parvatas, Somaka and Kumuda, which divide it into two khaṇḍas: the Dhātakī Khaṇḍa and the Kumuda Khaṇḍa.

Pushkara-dvīpa (ruled by Savana)

Savana ruled Pushkara-dvīpa. He had two sons, and the two great varshas of Pushkara carry their names:

• Mahāvīta-varsha, named after Mahāvīta
• Dhātakī-khaṇḍa, named after Dhātakī

In the Brahmāṇḍa, Pushkara-dvīpa has only two varshas, while each of the five dvīpas from Plaksha to Śāka has seven. Chapter 19 of the Brahmāṇḍa calls Pushkara the seventh and largest dvīpa. Through it runs the Mānasottara parvata, a great ring-shaped mountain 50,000 yojanas high and just as wide, which circles the whole dvīpa. The sacred tree honoured in Pushkara’s settlements is the nyagrodha (banyan tree). Svayambhū Brahmā lives here as its presiding deva and protects all beings, learned and unlearned alike.

The Brahmāṇḍa says Pushkara-dvīpa is unlike all the other dvīpas:

• There are no rivers and no rain; water rises naturally out of the ground
• There is no cycle of yugas and no extreme seasons
• There is no varṇāśrama-dharma and neither dharma nor adharma; all beings are equal in form, conduct and beauty
• Food appears by itself, without farming or trade, and all six flavours are always at hand
• There are no thieves, no criminals, no punishment, no poverty and no fear
• People live ten thousand years

Pushkara-dvīpa is surrounded by the Svādūdaka-sāgara, the ocean of sweet, pure water, which is as wide as the dvīpa itself.

The Kūrma Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha, Chapter 50) says Pushkara-dvīpa is the outermost of the seven dvīpas. It is twice the size of Śāka-dvīpa and is surrounded by the Śuddhodaka (pure water) ocean. It has only one kula-parvata, Mānasottara, which is one thousand yojanas long and fifty high, and which divides the dvīpa into two halves. The two regions are Mahāvīta-varsha and Dhātakī-khaṇḍa. In Pushkara-dvīpa, Śiva and Nārāyaṇa live together, half and half, honoured by Brahmā and the yogīs. Īśvara, dark and tawny in colour, is honoured by gandharvas, kinnaras and yakshas. The people are free from disease, sorrow, rāga and dvesha. There is no difference between satya (truth) and anṛta (untruth), and no ranking of high, middle and low. There is no varṇāśrama dharma, and there are no rivers or mountains here.

The Matsya Purāṇa says Pushkara-dvīpa is twice the size of Gomeda and is surrounded by the Ikshurasa-sāgara (the ocean of sugarcane juice). It holds two parvatas, Citrasānu and Mānasa; the second is the divine Mānasa lake of the devas. The people of Pushkara-dvīpa live for ten thousand years. This is the dvīpa from which King Pushpavāhana’s wondrous golden lotus-chariot came.

The Bhīshma Parva names Pushkara-dvīpa as the outermost of the dvīpas it describes, surrounded by fresh water (svādu-jala).

The Lokāloka mountain and the edge of the world

Beyond Pushkara-dvīpa and the Jala-sāgara stands the Lokāloka mountain. The Brahmāṇḍa calls it the great ring that marks the edge of the lit world. Beyond Lokāloka there is no sunlight and no life of the kind found within the bhū-maṇḍala.

Chapter 19 of the Brahmāṇḍa says that beyond the Svādūdaka ocean lies a vast golden plain. Here, circling the whole lit world, stands the great Lokāloka mountain. Its name means “world and no-world”: its inner face looks towards the light of the known world, and its outer face looks towards the darkness outside.

• Height: ten thousand yojanas
• Width: ten thousand yojanas
• Nature: the lit side is full of the activity of the world (loka-vṛtti); the dark side is the aloka, the unknowable outer edge that even the devas cannot reach

The Lokāloka mountain is the border of all lit creation. Beyond it lies andhakāra (darkness), where neither sun nor moon reaches. All seven lokas (worlds) from Bhūloka to Brahmaloka, the seven dvīpas and the seven oceans lie within the lit side. The dark side lies outside, mysterious and without limit.

The Kūrma Purāṇa (Pūrvārdha, Chapter 50) says that beyond Pushkara-dvīpa and its Śuddhodaka ocean lies a stretch of golden land twice as wide, and beyond that the Lokāloka mountain. It is ten thousand yojanas high and just as wide, and it marks the limit of the sun’s light. It is the boundary between the lit universe and the outer darkness. Its inner side faces sunlight and life; its outer side is darkness for ever.

The Matsya Purāṇa says that beyond the Svādu-jala ocean that circles Pushkara-dvīpa stands the Lokāloka parvata, a great boundary mountain range. Its inner face, turned towards the dvīpas, receives sunlight, and its outer face is always dark. Within the Lokāloka, four Lokapālas (guardians of the world) keep the order of the universe. Beyond the Lokāloka is formless darkness, the outer edge of the universe.

Many brahmāṇḍas

Chapter 19 of the Brahmāṇḍa ends with this statement. This whole visible world, with its seven dvīpas, seven oceans, the Lokāloka mountain and all seven lokas, makes up one brahmāṇḍa (world-egg, or universe). Thousands of crores of such brahmāṇḍas exist above, below and beside one another. Each brahmāṇḍa is wrapped in ghanodadhi (dense, solid water). That is surrounded by a tejo-maṇḍala (ring of light), which is held in turn by ghanavāyu (dense wind) and ākāśa (space). All the brahmāṇḍas pass through and support one another, and each is round like an ayoguḍa (iron ball). All of them together are held up by the endless, unchanging Paramātmā, Padmanābha (Vishṇu), who fills every place equally and is the final ground of all that exists.

In the Kūrma Purāṇa, the brahmāṇḍa (the cosmic egg, the whole universe) is this entire structure: the seven dvīpas, their seven oceans, the Lokāloka boundary and the shell of darkness beyond, all held together within the cosmic egg. The Kūrma Purāṇa adds that there are countless such brahmāṇḍas.

The five elements beyond the dvīpas

The Matsya Purāṇa says that beyond all seven dvīpas lie the Svādu-jala ocean, the Lokāloka mountain, and finally the outer boundary formed by the pañcabhūtas (the five great elements). These layers come one after another, each larger than the last: earth is ten times smaller than water; water ten times smaller than fire (tejas); fire ten times smaller than vāyu (air); vāyu ten times smaller than ākāśa (space); then comes Mahat (the great principle), and then Avyakta (the unmanifest).

The Vāyu Purāṇa’s account (Chapter 33)

Chapter 33 of the Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa gives its own account of the seven dvīpas, with the names of Priyavrata’s sons and the dvīpas they received.

Priyavrata’s seven sons and their dvīpas

The Vāyu Purāṇa says that Svāyambhuva Manu had ten sons equal to himself. Priyavrata, his pautra (grandson), made seven of them kings of the seven dvīpas:

The Vāyu Purāṇa says that varṇāśrama-dharma was followed in the five dvīpas of Plaksha, Śālmalī, Kuśa, Krauñca and Śāka, while Jambū-dvīpa and Pushkara-dvīpa each have their own special nature. In the five dvīpas people lived with lasting comfort, long lives, good looks, strength and dharma.

Agnīdhra’s nine sons and the nine varshas of Jambū-dvīpa

Agnīdhra had nine sons, who received the nine varshas of Jambū-dvīpa from him:

The eight varshas other than Bhārata are lands of lasting happiness, where sorrow, illness and old age do not reach. There is no cycle of yugas, no line between dharma and adharma, and no higher or lower. These lands are beyond karma.

The line of Bhārata from Nābhi to Śatajit

The Vāyu Purāṇa lists the rulers of Bhārata-varsha in the Svāyambhuva Manvantara. Nābhi, son of Agnīdhra, received the southern Hima-varsha. Nābhi and Merudevī had a son, Ṛshabha, the first kshatriya, the first rājarshi and the eldest of all kings. Ṛshabha’s son was Bharata, who gave the southern varsha its name, Bhārata-varsha. Bharata handed the kingdom to his son Sumatī and went to live in the forest.

The full line from Bharata is: Sumatī → Indradyumna → Pratīhārtā → Unneta → Udhītha → Pratāvī → Vibhu → Pṛthu → Naktu → Gaya → Nara → Virāṭ → Mahāvīrya → Dhīmanta → Mahānu → Bhauvana → Tvashṭā → Arjuna (Raju) → Śatajit.

Śatajit had one hundred sons, who became kings. The Vāyu Purāṇa says these kings of the Bharata line ruled this land of Bhārata for seventy-one yugas of the Svāyambhuva Manvantara.

The Bhūmi Parva of the Mahābhārata

The Bhūmi Parva section of the Bhīshma Parva (Chapters 11–12) gives its own accounts of the outer dvīpas, set out above under each dvīpa. It also says these things.

The four diggajas: the Bhīshma Parva names the four elephants of the directions who hold up the world: Vāmana (west), Airāvata (east), Supratīka (south) and Añjana (north). These four elephants carry the weight of the earth on their backs.

Rāhu, the sun and the moon: the disc of Rāhu is given a particular size in yojanas, and the sun (Sūrya) and the moon (Candra) are also given their sizes in this section.

The fruit of hearing: the Bhūmi Parva ends with a phalaśruti (a statement of the fruit gained). Those who read or hear this description of the earth with devotion gain puṇya equal to a pilgrimage across the whole universe.

Sources

• Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrva Bhāga, Chapters 14–15, 17 and 19
• Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skandha 5, Chapter 20
• Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 119
• Liṅga Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 46
• Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 33
• Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 111–122 (especially 111–113, 121 and 122)
• Mahābhārata, Bhīshma Parva, Bhūmi Parva, Chapters 11–12
• Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha (first part), Chapter 40 (the sons of Priyavrata)
• Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 45 (Jambū-dvīpa and the layout of the dvīpas)
• Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 47 (the peoples of Jambū-dvīpa)
• Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 49 (Plaksha, Śālmali, Kuśa, Krauñca and Śāka dvīpas)
• Kūrma Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 50 (Pushkara-dvīpa and the Lokāloka mountain)