The Geography of the Puranas c13.2

c13.2

We shall first discuss what the Purāṇas tell us about the earth in its large relations, both in time and space, to the remainder of the Universe, opinions about the Creation, about the size and shape of our terrestrial globe, about the influence exerted by the heavenly bodies in determining or affecting geographical conditions on its surface. In the Preface we explained why it is justifiable, when dealing with the Vedic and Purāṇic geography, to wander into the fields of cosmogony and cosmography far beyond what are now regarded as the rightful limits of geography. The following paragraphs will show how closely the Purāṇic conceptions of the present conditions of the Earth may be connected with their idea of the origin and nature of the Universe.