The Geography of the Puranas c3.3

c3.3

The method of treatment followed in this study will speak for itself. Attempt has been made to present facts in simple language without disturbing the geographical sequence and the sense of the original texts. Interpretations and explanations, wherever they occur, are based on suitable topographical maps and corresponding accounts in standard geographical works. The chapter on 'Cosmogony and Cosmology' was an after-thought. It was felt that, though a geographer should not normally wander into these fields, a brief account of the Purāṇic notions on the origin of the Universe and the origin of the Earth would not be out of place here since the Purāṇic concept of oceans, continents and the major relief features of the earth are intimately connected with the origins of the Universe and the Earth. The chapter on astronomical notions was dropped since there are already standard works on Indian astronomy which deal with the size and shape of the earth, latitude and longitude, day and night, seasons, time, etc.