Gandhamādana (Forest)

Gandhamādana · gandha-mādana

Gandhamādana is the forest on the south of Meru, the golden mountain at the centre of Jambūdvīpa. It is one of the four forests that surround Meru. It is not the mountain of the same name.

Around Meru

The munis ask the teller of the Brahma Purāṇa to tell them the form of the earth’s sphere and the arrangement of the bhuvana-kośa. He tells them that Meru stands in Ilāvṛta, in the middle of Jambūdvīpa, like the pericarp of the lotus that is the earth. East of Meru is the varsha Bhadrāśva and west of it Ketumāla, with Ilāvṛta between them. The forests are Caitraratha on the east, Gandhamādana on the south, Vaibhrāja on the west and Nandana on the north. The four lakes, enjoyed by the devas, are Aruṇoda, Mahābhadra, Asitoda and Mānasa.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 18

Sources

• Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 18