Śiva (son of Medhātithi)
Śiva, “the auspicious one”
Śiva has other meanings too: see all meanings of Śiva.
Śiva was the fifth of the seven sons of Medhātithi, the lord of Plaksha-dvīpa, and with his brothers he ruled that dvīpa (continent). He is not Bhagavān Śiva, and not the daitya Śiva, son of Hlada.
His family
Lomaharshaṇa tells the munis of the dvīpas that lie beyond Jambūdvīpa. The lord of Plaksha-dvīpa (Plaksha-dvīpeśvara) is Medhātithi, and his seven sons ruled the dvīpa. In order they are Śāntamaya, the eldest, Śiśira, Sukhodaya, Ānanda, Śiva, Kshemaka and Dhruva. Seven boundary (maryādā) mountains bear their names.
The land he ruled
Plaksha-dvīpa is twice the extent of Jambūdvīpa, which measures one lakh yojanas. It has seven varsha mountains, among them Gomoda, Candra, Dundubhi, Somaka, Sumanas and Vaibhrāja, and its seven rivers, all flowing to the sea, are Anutaptā, Śikhā, Vipāśā, Tridivā, Kramu, Amṛtā and Sukṛtā. These rivers take away pāpa (sin) the moment one hears their names. The people there drink their waters always, yet the rivers neither fall nor rise.
The people live together with devas and gandharvas, in lands that are pure and full of vigour. They live five thousand years, free of mental pain and of illness. There is no order of yugas there: time always runs as in the Tretā yuga. The four varṇas are the Āryakas, Kurus, Vivilvas and Bhāvins, and they worship Hari, the maker of the world, Sarveśvara (the master of all), in the form of Soma. A great plaksha tree stands in the middle of the dvīpa, and from it the dvīpa takes its name. The Ikshu ocean, of sugar-cane juice, surrounds it.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 20
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 20