Ṛshabha (Mountain)
Ṛshabha, “the bull”
Ṛshabha is one of the kesara (filament) mountains of Meru, on its northern side. The Brahma Purāṇa names it with Śaṅkhakūṭa, Haṃsa, Nāga and Kālañjara in its account of the shape of the world.
The kesara mountains of Meru
The munis ask the teller to describe the form of the earth’s sphere. He tells them of Jambūdvīpa in the middle of the seven dvīpas, and of the golden mountain Meru in the middle of Jambūdvīpa, standing like the pericarp in the middle of the lotus that is the earth. Around Meru stand its kesara mountains, like the filaments around the pericarp:
- East: Śāntavanta, Cakrakuñja, Kurarī, Mālyavanta and Vaikaṅka.
- South: Trikūṭa, Śiśira, Pataṅga, Rucaka, Nishadha and others.
- West: Śikhivāsa, Vaidūrya, Kapila, Gandhamādana, Jānudhi and others, which touch Meru.
- North: Śaṅkhakūṭa, Ṛshabha, Haṃsa, Nāga, Kālañjara and others.
The beginnings and ends of the kesara mountains on Meru’s four sides, the teller says, are cool.
The valleys of the mountains
Within these mountains are lovely valleys, frequented by siddhas and cāraṇas, with cities, forests and the finest temples of Lakshmī, Vishṇu, Agni, Sūrya, Indra and the other devatās. Gandharvas, yakshas, rākshasas, daityas and dānavas play there day and night. These are the bhauma-svargas, the svarga lands on the earth, the dwelling of those firm in dharma; those of pāpa cannot reach them in any number of births.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 18
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 18