Agni Purāṇa

118 - The country of Bharata

Agni said:

1. That country which (lies) to the north of ocean and south of Himadri (Himalaya) is known as the Bharatavarsha extending to nine thousand (yojanas).

2-4. This is a land of religious rites. It gives accomplishment of action in getting redemption. Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Suktimat, Hemaparvata, Vindhya and Pariyatra are the seven principal mountains here. Indradvi pa, Kaseru, Tâmravarna, Gabhastimán, Nagadvipa, Saumya, Gandharva, Varuņa and Bhårata are the nine territories here surrounded by the ocean.

5-8. The continent extends to one thousand yojanas from north to south. There are nine divisions of the Bharata lying around the central part. The kiratas (hunting tribes) (are) in the east. The yavanas (the foreigners) (are in the west). The brahmins and others devoted to the Vedas and smrutis (code books) (are) in the central part. The rivers rise from the Påriyatra (mountains). Narmada and other (rivers) flow from the Vindhya. (The rivers) Tapi, Payoshnikā, Godavari, Bhimarathi and Krishņaveņi and others flow from the Sahya (mountains). (The rivers) Krutamäla and others flow from the Malaya (mountains). (The rivers) Trisāma, and others originate from the Mahendra (mountain). (The rivers) Kumāra and others rise from Suktimat (mountain). (The river) Chandrabhagā rises from the Himalaya (mountains). The countries Kuru and Panchala and the Madhyadeśa are situated in the western part.

Summary of chapter 118 of the Agni Purāṇa is as follows:

The final saṃskāra, the funeral rite, is described from the moment of death through the cremation and post-cremation observances. Agni prescribes the śava-śauca procedures, the carrying of the body to the śmaśāna, the preparation of the funeral pyre with śamī and palāśa wood, and the eldest son's role as chief mourner in performing the dāhana. The collection of ashes, asthī-sañcayana on the third day, and immersion in a sacred river complete the immediate rites. The ten-day śava-daśāha period, with its daily piṇḍodaka and preta-tarpana, enables the departed soul's passage from the preta state.