Śāntavanta
Śāntavanta
Śāntavanta is one of the kesara (filament) mountains of Meru, the golden mountain at the centre of Jambūdvīpa. The Brahma Purāṇa names it first among the kesara mountains of Meru, in the list the Purāṇa gives before those of the south, west and north, in the description of the earth given to the munis who asked to hear the shape of the world.
Among the kesara mountains of Meru
Meru stands in the middle of the earth like the pericarp in the middle of a lotus, and the mountains around it are its filaments. First are Śāntavanta, Cakrakuñja, Kurarī, Mālyavanta and Vaikaṅka, the list that comes before those of the other sides. On the south are Trikūṭa, Śiśira, Pataṅga, Rucaka, Nishadha and others. On the west are Śikhivāsa, Vaidūrya, Kapila, Gandhamādana, Jānudhi and others, which touch Meru and stand in its jaṭhara positions. On the north are Śaṅkhakūṭa, Ṛshabha, Haṃsa, Nāga, Kālañjara and others. These are the kesara mountains on Meru’s four sides, and their beginnings and ends are cool.
The valleys of the mountains
The valleys among these mountains are lovely and frequented by siddhas and cāraṇas. In them are fair cities and forests, and the finest temples of Lakshmī, Vishṇu, Agni, Sūrya, Indra and the other devatās, served by naras and kinnaras. Gandharvas, yakshas, rākshasas, daityas and dānavas play there day and night. These are the bhauma-svargas, the svargas on the earth, the dwelling of those firm in dharma; those given to pāpa cannot reach them in any number of births.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 18
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 18