The Geography of the Puranas c6.31

c6.31

The account of the creation and description of the earth is much the same as in other Purāṇas, although it has some characteristic features. The first such feature is the Nava Khaṇḍa (Ch. 57) of the Purāṇa which in fact contains the strictly geographical information given in some other major Purāṇas. But the Mārkaṇḍeya has also another section (Ch. 58) called Kūrmavibhāga or the Kūrma-nivāsa, containing a list of the countries and peoples of Bhārata arranged according to the position of the country conceived as a tortoise (Kūrma) resting on water and looking eastward. This arrangement is based on earlier astronomical works like those of Parāśara and Varāhamihira. Most of these countries and peoples have been mentioned in the Nava Khaṇḍa section but the Kūrmavibhāga contains valuable topographical information not given in the other Purāṇas. On the whole, the pattern of this Purāṇa is similar to those of the Matsya, Vāyu, Brahmāṇḍa and Vāmana Purāṇas.