Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (13 page)

‘“On its northern side is the divine, auspicious and beautiful forest of Karnikara. It is full of flowers everywhere and extends across several mountains. The illustrious Pashupati
⁶⁵
himself, the creator of beings, sports there, surrounded by divine beings and accompanied by Uma. He wears a radiant garland of
karnikara
flowers
⁶⁶
that extends down to his feet. His three eyes blaze, like three rising suns. The Siddhas are extremely terrible in their austerities. They are excellent in their vows and truthful and can see him. Those who are evil in conduct are incapable of seeing Maheshvara. O lord of men! A stream of milk issues from the summit of that mountain. This is the sacred and auspicious Ganga, the beautiful Bhagirathi. She has three flows
⁶⁷
and is worshipped by the virtuous. She flows with a terrible roar. With great force, she descends into the beautiful lake Chandramas. That sacred lake is like an ocean and has been created from her. Even the mountains are incapable of bearing her. But in earlier times, Maheshvara bore her on his head for a hundred thousand years.

‘“O lord of the earth! Ketumala is on the western side of Meru. Jambukhanda is also there and is extremely large.
⁶⁸
It is like Nandana.
⁶⁹
O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The lifespan there is ten thousand years. The men have golden complexions and the women are like apsaras. Everyone is without disease and devoid of sorrow. They are always delighted in their minds. Humans born there have the complexion of molten gold. On the summit of
Gandhamadana, Kubera, lord of the guhyakas, spends his time in delight, with the rakshasas and surrounded by masses of apsaras. There are smaller mountains and hills at the feet of Gandhamadana. The maximum lifespan there is eleven thousand years. O king! The men there are dark, energetic and extremely strong. All the women have the complexion of lotuses and are extremely beautiful to look at. Shveta is beyond Nila and Hiranyaka is beyond Nila.
⁷⁰
The varsha named Airavata is bounded by Shringavat.
⁷¹
O great king! The two varshas to the south and the north are in the form of a bow. Ilavrita is in the middle of the five varshas.
⁷²
A varsha that is towards the north surpasses one to its south in qualities like lifespan, stature, health, dharma, kama and artha. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Beings live together in these varshas. O great king! The earth is thus covered with mountains. The large mountain Hemakuta also has the name of Kailasa. O king! Vaishravana
⁷³
sports there with the guhyakas. To the north of Kailasa and near Mount Mainaka, there is the large and divine Mount Manimaya, with a golden peak. To its side,
⁷⁴
there is the large, divine, auspicious and beautiful Vindusara,
⁷⁵
with golden sand. After having seen Ganga Bhagirathi, King Bhagiratha lived there for many years. There are many sacrificial stakes made out of gems there and sanctuaries made out of gold. The immensely famous one with a thousand eyes
⁷⁶
attained salvation there. The creator Bhutapati,
⁷⁷
the eternal lord of
all beings, supreme in his energy, is worshipped there, surrounded by his followers. Nara, Narayana, Brahma, Manu and Sthanu,
⁷⁸
as the fifth, are always present there. The goddess with the three flows
⁷⁹
first showed herself there. She emerged from Brahma’s world and divided herself into seven streams—Vasvokasara, Nalini, the sin-cleansing Sarasvati, Jambunadi,
⁸⁰
Sita, Ganga and Sindhu as the seventh. She is inconceivable and divine and the lord himself
⁸¹
thought of ways of dividing her. At the end of a yuga, it is there that sacrifices have been performed on a thousand occasions. The Sarasvati can be seen sometimes and sometimes she is invisible. Ganga, with the seven flows, is thus famous in the three worlds.

‘“The rakshasas live on Himavat, the guhyakas on Hemakuta. The
sarpa
s, the
naga
s,
⁸²
the
nishada
s and those rich in austerities live on Gokarna. Shveta mountain is said to be the abode of gods and asuras. O king! The gandharvas live on Mount Nishadha and brahmarshis on Nila. O great king! Shringavat is where the ancestors wander around. O great king! These are the divisions into seven varshas. Diverse types of mobile and immobile beings are placed in them. Different types of prosperity, divine and human, can be seen in them. This is incapable of being described. But those who desire their own welfare, have faith in them. O king! You asked me about the divine region that is in the form of a hare and I have told you. On two sides of the hare, to the north and to the south, there are two varshas. The ears
⁸³
are Nagadvipa and Kashyapadvipa. O king! The head is the beautiful Mount Malaya, with the hue of copper. This is the second part of the dvipa that has the shape of a hare.”

‘Dhritarashtra said, “O Sanjaya! What is to the north and on the eastern side of Meru? O immensely intelligent one! Tell me everything about Mount Malyavan.”

‘Sanjaya replied, “O king! To the south of Nila and on the northern side of Meru is Uttara Kuru, inhabited by the siddhas. The trees there yield sweet fruit and are always full of flowers and fruit. The flowers have excellent fragrance and the fruits are succulent. O lord of men! Some of the trees there yield fruit that satisfy every desire. O lord of men! Other trees there are known as those that yield milk. They yield milk that is like amrita, with the six different kinds of taste.
⁸⁴
They also yield garments
⁸⁵
and the fruits are also ornaments. The entire ground is strewn with jewels and fine golden sand. O lord of men! Everything is pleasant to the touch and there is no mud. The men who are born there are those who have been dislodged from the world of the gods. Whether on plain or uneven terrain, everyone is similar in beauty and qualities. Twins are born there and the women are the equals of apsaras. They drink the milk there and the milk is like amrita. When the twins are born, they grow up equally. They are similar in beauty and qualities and wear similar garments. O lord! Like
chakravaka
s,
⁸⁶
they are devoted to each other. They are without disease, devoid of sorrow and always delighted in their minds. O great king! They live for eleven thousand years and never abandon each other. There is a bird named Bharunda. It has sharp beaks and is extremely strong. When they die, this picks up the dead and hurls them into mountainous caverns. O king! I have briefly described Uttara Kuru to you.

‘“I will now describe the eastern side of Meru to you exactly. O lord of the earth! Bhadrashva is the first. There is a forest of
bhadrasala
⁸⁷
there and a large tree named Kalamra. O great king! Kalamra is beautiful and always has flowers and fruit. This dvipa is one yojana in expanse and is frequented by siddhas and charanas. The men there are white and possess energy and great strength. The women there are lovely. They are beautiful to look at and have the complexion of the moon. They have the radiance of the moon. They have the complexion of the moon. Their faces are like the full moon. Their bodies are as cool as the moon and they are skilled in dancing and singing. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The lifespan there is ten thousand years. They always remain young by drinking the juice of Kalamra. To the south of Nila and to the north of Nishadha, there is a large and eternal jambu tree by the name of Sudarshana. It has fruits that provide every object of desire. It is sacred and is worshipped by the siddhas and charanas. The eternal Jambudvipa owes its naming to this. O bull among the Bharata lineage! That king of trees rises up to heaven. O lord of men! It is one thousand and one hundred yojanas tall. When measured by hand, the fruit of that is two thousand and five hundred cubits in circumference. When ripe, it bursts and falls down on the ground with a loud noise. O king! It releases a juice that is silvery in colour. O lord of men! The juice of the jambu fruit becomes a river. Having circled Meru, this goes to Uttara Kuru. O lord of men! People are always delighted at having drunk this juice. Having drunk the juice of this fruit, they do not suffer from old age. There is a gold named Jambunada there and it is used for divine ornaments. Men who are born there have the complexion of the rising sun. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The fire known as Samvartaka blazes on the summit of Malyavan. This is the fire of destruction. On the summit of Malyavan, towards the east, are smaller mountains. Malyavan extends for one thousand and fifty yojanas. Men who are born there have the complexion of gold.
⁸⁸
They have all been dislodged from Brahma’s world and are knowledgeable about the brahman. They torment themselves through austerities and hold up their semen. For
the sake of protecting beings, they enter the sun. There are sixty-six thousand of them.
⁸⁹
They surround the sun and travel ahead of the sun. Having been heated by the sun for sixty-six thousand years, they enter the lunar circle.”’

‘Dhritarashtra said, “O Sanjaya! Tell me the names of the varshas and the mountains. And tell me accurately about those who dwell in the mountains.”

‘Sanjaya said, “To the south of Shveta and to the north of Nila, is the varsha named Ramanaka.
⁹⁰
Men who are born there are white in complexion. All of them are extremely handsome to look at. The people born there are fond of sexual pleasures. O great king! Happy in their minds, they live for eleven thousand and five hundred years. To the south and to the north of Mount Shveta, is the varsha named Hairanyavat
⁹¹
and the river Hairanvati. O great king! Everyone there is rich, handsome and a follower of the yakshas. O king! They are extremely strong and are always delighted in their minds. O lord of men! The lifespan there is eleven thousand and five hundred years. O lord of men! Shringavat has three peaks. One is made of jewels and another is extraordinary and is made of gold. Another has jewels everywhere and is adorned with beautiful mansions. The goddess Shandili,
⁹²
who illuminates herself, always resides there. O lord of men! To the north of that peak and on the frontiers of the ocean, is the varsha named Airavata,
⁹³
which
is supreme because of Shringavan. The sun does not heat there. Men do not decay there. The moon and the nakshatras cover
⁹⁴
and are the only source of illumination there. Humans who are born there have the radiance of lotuses, the complexion of lotuses, eyes that are like the petals of lotuses and fragrance like the petals of lotuses. They do not blink their eyes. Extremely fragrant, they do not partake of food and are in control of their senses. O king! All of them have been dislodged from the world of the gods and are without sin. O lord of men! O supreme among Bharatas! Men have a lifespan of thirteen thousand years there. The lord Hari dwells to the north of the milky ocean, in Vaikuntha. His chariot is made out of gold and has eight wheels. It is yoked to beings and has the speed of the mind. It has the complexion of fire and is extremely swift. It is embellished with gold. O bull among the Bharata lineage! He is the lord of all beings and all prosperity. He is finite and infinite. He is the one who acts. He is the one who makes everyone act. O king! He is earth, water, sky, wind and energy. He is the sacrifice for all beings. The fire is his mouth.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘O lord of men! Having been thus addressed by Sanjaya, the high-minded king, Dhritarashtra, meditated about his sons. O great king! Having thought, he again spoke these words. “O son of a suta! There is no doubt that time destroys the universe and creates everything again. There is nothing that is eternal. Nara and Narayana know everything and hold up all beings. The gods call him Vaikuntha and he is known as Lord Vishnu.
⁹⁵
”’

‘Dhritarashtra said, “Tell me about Bharatavarsha, where this senseless army has gathered, and for which, my son Duryodhana is so avaricious. The sons of Pandu desire it and my
mind is immersed in it. O Sanjaya! I am asking you, because you are skilled.”

‘Sanjaya said, “O king! Listen to my words. The Pandavas are not covetous about this. It is Duryodhana who covets it, and so does Shakuni Soubala. There are other kshatriyas, who are the kings of many countries, who are greedy about Bharatavarsha and cannot tolerate each other. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I will now describe to you the land that is named after Bharata.
⁹⁶
O king! This is loved by the god Indra, Vaivasvata Manu,
⁹⁷
Prithu Vainya>,
⁹⁸
the great-souled Ikshvaku,
⁹⁹
Yayati,
¹⁰⁰
Ambarisha,
¹⁰¹
Mandhata,
¹⁰²
Nahusha,
¹⁰³
Muchukunda,
¹⁰⁴
Shibi Oushinara,
¹⁰⁵
Rishabha,
¹⁰⁶
Aila,
¹⁰⁷
King Nriga
¹⁰⁸
and other powerful kshatriyas. O great king! O Indra among kings! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O
scorcher of enemies! All of them loved Bharata and I will describe this varsha as I have heard it.

‘“O king! Listen as I tell you what you have asked. Mahendra, Malaya, Shuktiman, Rikshavan, Vindhya, Pariyatra—these are the seven noble mountains.
¹⁰⁹
O king! Near them, there are thousands of other mountains that are unknown. They are full of substance and large, with beautiful foothills. There are other unknown and inferior mountains, inhabited by those who have inferior means of subsistence. O Kouravya! O lord! There are aryas and
mleccha
s
¹¹⁰
and men from mixed lineage. O lord of men! O Kourava! They drink water from the rivers—the great Ganga, Sindhu, Sarasvati, Godavari, Narmada, the great river Bahuda,
¹¹¹
Shatadru,
¹¹²
Chandrabhaga,
¹¹³
the great river Yamuna, Drishadvati,
¹¹⁴
Vipasha,
¹¹⁵
Vipapa, Sthulavaluka, the river Vetravati,
¹¹⁶
the downward-flowing Krishnavena,
¹¹⁷
Iravati,
¹¹⁸
Vitasta,
¹¹⁹
Payoshni,
¹²⁰
Devika,
¹²¹
Vedasmriti, Vetasini, Trideva, Ikshumalini, Karishini, Chitravaha, the downward-flowing Chitrasena, Gomati, Dhutapapa, the great river Vandana, Koushiki,
¹²²
Trideva,
¹²³
Kritya, Vichitra, Lohatarini, Rathastha, Shatakumbha, Sarayu,
¹²⁴
Charmanvati,
¹²⁵
Vetravati,
¹²⁶
Hastisoma, Disha, Shatavari, Payoshni,
¹²⁷
Bhaimarathi, Kaveri, Chuluka, Vapi, Shatabala, Nichira, Mahita, Suproyaga, Pavitra, Kundala, Sindhu,
¹²⁸
Vajini, Puramalini, Purvabhirama, Vira, Bhima,
¹²⁹
Oghavati,
¹³⁰
Palashini, Papahara, Mahendra, Pippalavati, Parishena, Asikni,
¹³¹
Sarala, Bharamardini, Puruhi, Pravara, Mena, Mogha, Ghritavati, Dhumatyamati, Krishna, Suchi, Chhavi, Sadanira, Adhrishya, the great river Kushadhara, Shashikanta, Shiva, Viravati, Vastu, Suvastu, Gouri, Kampana, Hiranvati, Hiranvati,
¹³²
Chitravati, the downward-flowing Chitrasena,
¹³³
Rathachitra, Jyotiratha, Vishvamitra, Kapinjala, Upendra, Bahula, Kuchara, Ambuvahini, Vainandi, Pinjala, Venna,
¹³⁴
the great river Tungavena, Vidisha, Krishnavenna,
¹³⁵
Tamra, Kapila, Shalu, Suvama, Vedashva, the great river Harisrava, Shighra, Picchila, the downward-flowing Bharadvaji, the downward-flowing Koushiki,
¹³⁶
Shona,
¹³⁷
Bahuda,
¹³⁸
Chandana,
¹³⁹
Durgamanta, Shila, Brahmamedhya, Brihadvati, Charaksha, Mahirohi, Jambunadi, Sunasa, Tamasa,
¹⁴⁰
Dasi, Trasamanya, Varanasi,
¹⁴¹
Lola, Adhritakara, the great river Purnasha, Manavi and the great river Purnasha. O lord of men! O descendant of the
Bharata lineage! There are others—Sadaniramaya, Vritya, Mandaga, Mandavahini, Brahmani, Mahagouri, Durga, Chitropala, Chitrabarha, Manju, Makaravahini, Mandakini,
¹⁴²
Vaitarani,
¹⁴³
the great river Koka, Shuktimati, Maranya, Pushpaveni, Utpalavati, Lohitya,
¹⁴⁴
Karatoya,
¹⁴⁵
Vrishabhangini, Kumari, Rishikulya, Brahmakulya, Sarasvati, Supunya, Sarva and the revered Ganga. O lord of men! All of these are mothers of the universe. All of them are extremely strong.
¹⁴⁶
Other than these, there are hundreds and thousands of other rivers. O king! To the extent I remember, I have described these rivers to you.