Vishnupurana 2.4.9
The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition 2.4.9
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2.4.9
Beyond the sea of fresh water is a region of twice its extent, where the land is of gold, and where no living beings reside. Thence extends the Lokáloka mountain, which is ten thousand Yojanas in breadth, and as many in height; and beyond it perpetual darkness invests the mountain all around; which darkness is again encompassed by the shell of the egg.
2.4.9.n1
The Ańd́a kat́áha. The Kat́áha is properly a shallow hemispherical vessel, a saucer; but compounded in this form, implies the shell of the mundane egg. The Bhágavata thus describes these portions of the world: "Beyond the sea of fresh water is the mountain belt, called Lokáloka, the circular boundary between the world and void space. The interval between Meru and Mánasottara is the land of living beings. Beyond the fresh water sea is the region of gold, which shines like the bright surface of a mirror, but from which no sensible object presented to it is ever reflected, and consequently it is avoided by living creatures. The mountain range by which it is encircled is termed Lokáloka, because the world is separated by it from that which is not world; for which purpose it was placed by Íśwara on the limit of the three worlds; and its height and breadth are such that the rays of the heavenly luminaries, from the sun to the polar-star, which spread over the regions within the mountain, cannot penetrate beyond it." According to Col. Wilford, however, there is a chasm in the belt, and a sea beyond it, where Vishńu abides; but he has not given his authorities for this. (As. Res. XI. 54.) The Mohammedan legends of Koh Kaf, 'the stony girdle that surrounds the world,' are evidently connected with the Lokáloka of the Hindus. According to the Śiva Tantra, the El Dorado, at the foot of the Lokáloka mountains, is the play-ground of the gods.
Linked texts (1)
- Viṣṇupurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit