Droṇa (Mountain)

Droṇa

Droṇa is a mountain of Śālmala-dvīpa, one of the seven dvīpas of the earth. It is one of the seven kulācalas (chief mountains) of that dvīpa, mountains that bear gems within them, and on Droṇa-giri grow great medicinal herbs (mahaushadhi). Lomaharshaṇa names it in the Brahma Purāṇa where he describes to the munis the dvīpas beyond Jambūdvīpa.

In Śālmala-dvīpa

The lord of Śālmala-dvīpa is the hero Vapushmān, and seven varsha mountains there are well known by the names of his sons: Śveta, Harita, Jīmūta, Rohita, Vaidyuta, Mānasa and Suprabha. The dvīpa is twice the measure of Plaksha-dvīpa and is surrounded by the ocean of ikshu-rasa (sugar-cane juice).

It has seven kulācalas, bearing gems within them, and seven rivers. The mountains are Kumuda, Unnata, Valāhaka, Droṇa, Kaṅka, Mahisha and Kakudmān; on Droṇa-giri are the great medicinal herbs. The rivers are Śroṇī, Toyā, Vitṛshṇā, Candrā, Śukrā, Vimocanī and Nivṛtti, and they take away pāpa by mere remembrance. The varshas are Śveta, Lohita, Jīmūta, Harita, Vaidyuta, Mānasa and Suprabha.

The four varṇas live there, known by their colours: the kapila, honey-coloured, are the brāhmaṇas; the aruṇa, red, the kshatriyas; the pīta, yellow, the vaiśyas; and the kṛshṇa, dark, the śūdras. Those who perform yāgas there worship Vishṇu, and in the yajña they serve him in the form of Vāyu. The devas are present in this most lovely dvīpa. Because the śālmala tree, the silk-cotton tree, stands there, it is called Śālmala-dvīpa. Then, the text goes on, around Kuśa-dvīpa lies the ocean of surā, twice as wide as Śālmala-dvīpa.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 20

Sources

• Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 20