Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (14 page)

‘“After this, listen to me as I recount the names of countries. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They are Kuru, Panchala, Shalva, Madreya, Jangala, Shurasena, Kalinga, Bodha, Mouka, Matsya, Sukuta, Soubala, Kuntala, Kashi, Koshala, Chedi, Vatsa, Karusha, Bhoja, Sindhu, Pulinda, Uttamouja, Dasharna, Mekala, Utkala, Panchala, Koushija, Ekaprishtha, Yugandhara, Soudha, Madra, Bhujinga, Kashi,
¹⁴⁷
Parakashi, Jathara, Kukkusha, Sudasharna, Kunti, Avanti, Parakunti, Govinda, Mandaka, Shanda, Vidarbha, Upavasika, Ashmaka, Pamsurashtra, Goparashtra, Panitaka, Adirashtra, Sukutta, Balirashtra, Kerala,
¹⁴⁸
Vanarasya, Pravaha, Vakra, Vakrabhaya, Shaka, Videha, Magadha, Suhma, Vijaya, Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Yakrillomana, Malla, Sudeshna, Prahuta, Mahisha, Karshika, Vahika, Vatadhana, Abhira, Kalatoya, Aparandhra, Shudra, Pahlava, Charmakhandika, Atavi, Shabara, Marubhouma, Marisha, Upavrisha, Anupavrisha, Surashtra, Kekaya, Kuttaparanta,
Dvaidheya, Kaksha, Samudranishkuta and Andhra. O king! O lord of men! There are other mountainous regions and regions on the outside of the mountains—Angamalada, Magadha, Manavarjaka, Mahyuttara, Pravrisheya, Bhargama, Pundra, Bharga, Kirata, Sudoshna, Pramuda, Shaka, Nishada, Nishadha, Anarta, Nairrita, Dugula, Pratimatsya, Kushala, Kunata, Tiragraha, Taratoya, Rajika, Ramyakagana, Tilaka, Parasika, Madhumanta, Prakutsaka, Kashmira, Sindhu, Souvira, Gandhara, Darshaka, Abhisara, Kuluta, Shaibala, Bahlika, Darvika, Sakacha, Darva, Vataja, Amaratha, Uraga, Bahuvadya, Kouravya, Sudamana, Sumallika, Vaghra, Karisha, Kashi,
¹⁴⁹
Kulinda, Upatyaka, Vanayu, Dashaparshva, Romana, Kushabindu, Kaccha, Gopalakaccha, Langala, Paravallaka, Kirata, Barbara, Siddha, Videha,
¹⁵⁰
Tamralingaka, Oushtra, Pundra, Sairandhra, Parvatiya and Marisha. O bull among the Bharata lineage! There are other countries to the south—Dravida, Kerala,
¹⁵¹
Prachya, Bhushika, Vanavasina, Unnatyaka, Mahishaka, Vikalpa, Bhushaka, Karnika, Kuntika, Soudrida, Nalakalaka, Koukuttaka, Chola, Konkana, Malavana, Samanga, Kopana, Kukura, Angadamarisha, Dhvajini, Utsava, Sanketa, Trigarta, Sarvaseni, Tryanga, Kekaraka, Proshtha, Parasancharaka, Vindhya, Pulaka, Pulinda, Kalkala, Malaka, Mallaka, Paravartaka, Kulinda, Kulika, Karantha, Kuraka, Mushaka, Stanavala, Satiya, Pattipanjaka, Adidaya, Sirala, Stuvaka, Stanapa, Hrishividharbha, Kantika, Tangana and Paratangana. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! There are other mleccha people to the north—Yavana, Kamboja, Daruna, other mleccha people, Sakshadruha, Kuntala, Huna, Parataka, Maradha, China and Dashamalika. These are inhabited by others born from kshatriya, vaishya and shudra lineages. There are
shudra-abhira
s, Daradas, Kashmiras, Pashus, Svashikas, Tukharas, Pallavas, Girigahvaras, Atreyas, Bharadvajas, Stanayoshikas, Oupakas, Kalingas, different races of
kirata
s,
¹⁵²
Tamaras, Hamsamargas and Karabhanjakas.

‘“O lord! I have only given brief indications about these countries. If the earth and its qualities and strengths are properly used, it becomes like a milch cow that yields objects of desires and leads to the great fruit of the three objectives.
¹⁵³
The brave kings who know about dharma and artha are covetous of these. Because of greed for these riches, they have readily agreed to give up their lives in battle. The earth is the refuge and is desired by those who have the bodies of gods and men. O foremost among the Bharata lineage! The kings desire to enjoy the earth and have become like dogs that are trying to snatch meat from each other. Their desires will never be satisfied. O king! It is for this reason that the Kurus and the Pandavas have tried to obtain the possession of the earth through conciliation, gifts, dissension and chastisement.
¹⁵⁴
O bull among men! If the earth is looked after well, she becomes the father, the mother, the son and heaven for all beings.”’

‘Dhritarashtra said, “O suta! O Sanjaya! Tell me about the dimensions, the lifespan, the good and evil fruits and the past, present and future of Bharatavarsha, Haimavat and Harivarsha. Tell me in detail.”

‘Sanjaya said, “O bull among the Bharata lineage! O extender of the Kuru lineage! There are four yugas in Bharatavarsha—
krita
,
treta
,
dvapara
and
pushya
.
¹⁵⁵
O lord! The first is krita yuga and after that treta yuga follows. Dvapara comes after that and pushya follows thereafter. O supreme among Kurus! O supreme among kings! The measure of the lifespan in krita yuga is said to be four thousand years. O lord of men! That of treta is three thousand years.
In the present one of dvapara, it is two thousand. O bull among the Bharata lineage! No fixed lifespan has been prescribed for pushya. People will die in the womb, or once they are born. O king! Men are born in krita and have offspring who are immensely strong, great in spirit and possess all the qualities. There are sages and those rich in austerities. O king! They are great in their endeavour, great-souled, devoted to dharma and truthful. O king! Those born in krita yuga are rich and handsome, with long lifespans. Kshatriyas born in treta yuga are extremely brave warriors, supreme among those who wield bows. Those brave ones are emperors.
¹⁵⁶
O great king! When dvapara begins, all the varnas have great endeavour and great valour. But they seek to kill each other. O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Those who are born in pushya are limited in their energy and men are wrathful. They are greedy and untruthful. They suffer from jealousy, vanity, anger, deception and malice. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! There is wrath and greed on earth in pushya. O king! O lord of men! The part that remains of dvapara is very small.
¹⁵⁷
Haimavat is superior to Harivarsha in all qualities and so on.”’
¹⁵⁸

This parva has eighty-seven shlokas and two chapters.

Chapter 872(12): 37 shlokas
Chapter 873(13): 50 shlokas

Bhumi means land or the earth and this section is so named because it has a description of the earth.

‘Dhritarashtra said, “O Sanjaya! You have described Jambukhanda exactly to me. Now tell me exactly about its expanse and dimensions. O Sanjaya! Without leaving any gaps, also tell me exactly and accurately about the dimensions of the oceans, Shakadvipa, Kushadvipa, Shalmalidvipa and Krounchadvipa. O son of Gavalgana! Tell me everything about Rahu, the moon and the sun.”

‘Sanjaya said, “O king! There are many dvipas spread throughout the earth. But I will tell you about seven of them and about the moon, the sun and the planet.
¹
O lord of the earth! The mountain of Jambu extends, in its entirety, over eighteen thousand and six hundred
yojanas. It is said that the salty ocean is double this in expanse. It
²
has many countries and is decorated with jewels and coral. It is decorated with many beautiful mountains that have diverse kinds of minerals. Inhabited by siddhas and charanas, the ocean is circular. O king! I will tell you exactly about Shakadvipa. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! Listen to me, as I describe it to you appropriately. O lord of men! In dimensions, it is double the size of Jambudvipa. O great king! The ocean is double this in expanse. O foremost among Bharatas! It
³
is surrounded on all sides by the milky ocean. There are many sacred countries there. People who are there, do not die. How can there be famine there? They
⁴
are endowed with forgiveness and energy. O bull among the Bharata lineage! I have briefly and exactly told you about Shakadvipa. O great king! What else do you desire to hear?”

‘Dhritarashtra said, “O Sanjaya! You have, briefly and exactly, told me about Shakadvipa. O immensely wise one! Now accurately, tell me everything in detail.”

‘Sanjaya said, “O king! There are seven mountains there and they are adorned with gems. They are stores of jewels. Listen to the names of the rivers that are there. O lord of men! Everything there is supreme in qualities and sacred. The supreme one is known as Meru and is the abode of gods, rishis and gandharvas. O great king! The mountain named Malaya extends towards the east. The clouds are generated there and spread out in all the directions. O Kouravya! Next is the large mountain Jaladhara. Vasava always extracts supreme water from there. O lord of men! It is from this that we obtain showers during the monsoon. The tall mountain of Raivataka is always established there. The grandfather has decreed that Revati nakshatra should be above it in the sky.
⁵
O Indra among kings! To the north, is the large mountain named Shyama. O lord of countries! All the people there are dark in complexion.”

‘Dhritarashtra asked, “O Sanjaya! A great doubt has arisen in my mind now, because of what you have said. O son of a suta! Why are the people there dark in complexion?”

‘Sanjaya said, “O immensely wise one! O descendant of the Kuru lineage! In all the dvipas, there are those who are fair and those who are dark in complexion. O king! There is also a mixture of the two complexions. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! But because it is full of such people, it is known as Shyama.
⁶
O illustrious one! Because the people there are dark, this mountain is called Shyama. O Indra among Kouravas! Beyond this, there is the great mountain Durgashaila. Then there is Kesara. The wind that blows there has the fragrance of saffron.
⁷
Measured in yojanas, each
⁸
is twice the height of the one that has preceded it. O Kouravya! The learned have said that there are seven varshas there. O great king! That of the great Meru is Mahakasha, that of Jalada is Kumudottara, that of Jaladhara is said to be Sukumara, that of Raivata is Koumara, that of Shyama is Manichaka and that of Kesara is Modaki.
⁹
Beyond that, is Mahapuman,
¹⁰
in the middle of Shakadvipa. O Kouravya! O great king! In length, breadth and circumference, this is as large as the famous and large tree that is in the midst of Jambudvipa. There are many sacred countries there, where Shankara
¹¹
is worshipped. The siddhas, the charanas and the gods go there. O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! All the people follow dharma there, and so do the four varnas. They are engaged in their own tasks and no instances of theft can be seen. O great king! They have long lives and are free from old age and death. The people there prosper, like rivers during the monsoon. The rivers there are full of pure water. O Kouravya!
O supreme among the Bharata lineage! Ganga divides herself into several flows—Sukumari, Kumari, Sita, Kaveraka, Mahanadi, the river Manijala and Ikshuvardhanika. O extender of the Kuru lineage! There are many other sacred rivers there, in hundreds and thousands, and Vasava draws water from them to shower down. It is impossible to enumerate the names, lengths and dimensions of these. All these rivers are holy. As the worlds know, there are four sacred countries there—Maga, Mashaka, Manasa and Mandaga. O king! Magas are usually brahmanas and are devoted to their own tasks. The kings of Mashaka are devoted to dharma and tend to every desire.
¹²
O great king! The vaishyas of Manasa earn their living through deeds. With all their desires gratified, they are brave and are firmly devoted to dharma and artha. The shudra men of Mandaga always follow the conduct of dharma. O Indra among kings! There is no king there, no punishment, and no one to be punished. They are devoted to their own dharma and protect dharma and each other. One is capable of saying this much about that dvipa. Only this much can be heard about the immensely energetic Shakadvipa.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “O Kouravya! O great king! I will tell you about what is heard about the dvipa to the north. Listen to me. There is an ocean there, with waters made out of clarified butter.
¹³
Beyond that, there is an ocean with waters made of curd.
¹⁴
Next is an ocean with waters made out of liquor.
¹⁵
And there is another ocean with water made out of sweat.
¹⁶
O lord of men! Each of these dvipas is double the size of the one that has preceded it. O great king! They
are surrounded by mountains on all sides. In the dvipa that is in the centre, there is a great mountain named Goura, made out of red arsenic. O king! To the west is a mountain named Krishna, which resembles Narayana. Keshava himself protects the divine jewels there. Prajapati is seated there and bestows happiness on beings. Other than the countries,
kusha
grass grows in the midst of Kushadvipa. O king! The
shalmali
¹⁷
tree is worshipped in Shalmalidvipa. There is the mountain of Mahakrouncha in Krounchadvipa. It is a store of gems. O great king! It is always worshipped by the four varnas. O king! There is the extremely large mountain of Gomanta, which is a store of every kind of mineral. The handsome and lotus-eyed lord, Narayana Hari, always resides there, praised by those who have obtained salvation. O Indra among kings! There is another mountain in Kushadvipa and it is marked with coral. There is a second golden and inaccessible mountain named Sudhama. O Kouravya! There is the third radiant mountain, Kumuda. The fourth has the name of Pushpavan and the fifth is Kushoshaya. The sixth has the name of Harigiri and these six are the foremost among mountains. As one progresses, the space between two mountains is double that between the preceding two.

‘“The first varsha is Oudbhida and the second is Venumandala. The third is Rathakara and the fourth is known as Palana. The fifth varsha is Dhritimat and the sixth varsha is Prabhakara. The seventh varsha is Kampila and this is the collection of seven varshas. O lord of the universe. Gods, gandharvas and other beings roam and sport there. People do not die there. O king! There are no bandits there and no mleccha tribes. O king! Everyone there is usually fair and delicate. O lord of men! I will tell you about the remaining varshas, as it has been heard. O great king! Listen with an attentive mind. In Krounchadvipa, there is a large mountain named Krouncha. Beyond Krouncha is Vamanaka and after Vamanaka is Andhakaraka. O king! Beyond Andhakara
¹⁸
is Mainaka, supreme among mountains. O king! Beyond Mainaka is Govinda, best among mountains. O
king! Beyond Govinda is the mountain named Nibida. O extender of the lineage! The range between successive mountains is double.
¹⁹
Listen. I will tell you about the countries that are located there. The country near Krouncha is Kushala, while that near Vamana
²⁰
is Manonuga. O extender of the Kuru lineage! The country beyond Manonuga is Ushna. Pravaraka is beyond Ushna, Andhakaraka beyond Pravara.
²¹
The country beyond Andhakaraka is said to be Munidesha. Dundubhisvana is said to be beyond Munidesha. O lord of men! This is frequented by siddhas and charanas and people are generally fair. O great king! These countries are frequented by gods and gandharvas. There is a mountain named Pushkara in Pushkara and it is full of gems and jewels. The god Prajapati himself, always resides there. O lord of men! All the gods, accompanied by the maharshis, always worship him with eloquent words and reverent homage. Different kinds of jewels from Jambudvipa are used in this. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! In all these dvipas, people and brahmanas observe
brahmacharya
²²
and self-control and are truthful. Health and life expectancy progressively becomes double.
²³
O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The land in each of these dvipas constitutes a single country. In each of these countries, only a single dharma is seen. The lord Prajapati himself raises his staff of chastisement there. O great king! He always resides in those dvipas and protects them. O king! He is the king. He is the one who provides bliss.
²⁴
He is the father. He is the grandfather. O foremost among men! He protects all the mobile and immobile beings. O Kouravya! O great king! Cooked food manifests itself before the beings there and they always eat it. Beyond this is seen the world
named Sama. O great king! This has four corners and thirty-three circles. O Kouravya! O foremost among the Bharata lineage! The four elephants, revered by the worlds, reside there.
²⁵
O king! They are Vamana, Airavata, Supratika who has rent temples and mouth, and another one.
²⁶
I cannot enumerate the dimensions of these elephants. That has always remained unknown—upwards, downwards and diagonally. O great king! The wind freely blows there from all the directions and the elephants seize it with trunks that are extremely radiant, designed to draw up, and with tips like lotuses. As soon as the elephants have seized the wind, they release it with their breath. O great king! It arrives here and sustains all beings.”

‘Dhritarashtra said, “O Sanjaya! You have told me in detail about the first.
²⁷
You have also described the dvipas. O Sanjaya! Now tell me what is left.”

‘Sanjaya said, “O great king! O foremost among the Kouravas! I have spoken about the dvipas. Now listen as I exactly tell you about the planets and Svarbhanu
²⁸
and about their dimensions. O great king! It has been heard that the planet Svarbhanu is spherical. Its diameter is twelve thousand yojanas. O unblemished one! Because it is large, its circumference is forty-two thousand yojanas.
²⁹
That is what the ancient and learned ones have said. O king! The diameter of the moon is said to be eleven thousand yojanas. O foremost among the Kuru lineage! The circumference of this great-souled one, who provides cool rays, is thirty-eight thousand and nine hundred yojanas.
³⁰
O descendant of the Kuru lineage! O king! The diameter of the sun is ten thousand yojanas and its circumference is thirty-five
thousand and eight hundred. O unblemished one! This is because it is so large. Thus it has been heard about the extremely benevolent and fast-moving giver of light. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! These are the dimensions indicated for the sun. O great king! Because of its large size, at the appropriate time, Rahu envelopes both the moon and the sun. I have briefly recounted this to you. O great king! With the sight of the sacred texts, I have told you everything that you had asked, exactly. Be at peace. As instructed there,
³¹
I have told you about the creation of the universe. O Kouravya! Therefore, pacify your son Duryodhana.
³²
O foremost among the Bharata lineage! Having heard the delightful account of Bhumi Parva, a king obtains prosperity and success and is honoured by virtuous ones. The life expectancy, strength, deeds and energy of such a lord of the earth increase, if he follows the vows and listens to it on the day of the new moon or the full moon. His ancestors and grandfathers are gratified. You have now heard everything about the merits that have earlier flowed from Bharata Varsha, where we now are.”’