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The Geography of the Puranas c7.s4: Travellers' Accounts

The Geography of the Purāṇas c7.s4

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Travellers' Accounts

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Travellers' accounts, religious, commercial or expeditionary appear to have influenced the Purāṇic description of the different regions of the world. It is to be noted that all the Purāṇas, though basically identical as regards their geographical content, show variations in their regional accounts, according to their knowledge of various lands acquired through this source. For instance, the Vāyu and the Matsya give far more details about Bhadravaṛṣa and Ketumāla, i.e., extra-Indian territories as compared with others. Obviously these reflect the closer contacts of India with China, South-East Asia and the Trans-Oxus regions which developed during the period when these Purāṇas were composed. Similarly the later Purāṇas also bring out in varying degrees the changing pattern of communities (or tribes) and acquaintance with the topographic details of different regions of India and their inhabitants by the addition or substraction of names to or from the traditional lists of similar features given in the Epics and earlier Purāṇas.

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CHAPTER II Puranic Continents and Oceans

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THE geography of the world and its regions figures in most of the Purāṇas, the main features of the continents and oceans and their subdivisions remaining essentially the same. The Agni and Brahma are word for word the same as the Viṣṇu; and the Kūrma, Liṅga, Matsya, Mārkaṇḍeya and Vāyu present many passages common to them and the Viṣṇu or to one another. The Vāyu enters most fully into particulars. The Bhāgavata differs in its nomenclature of minor details from all, and is followed by the Padma. The others either omit the subject, or refer to it briefly. The Mahābhārata ( Bhīṣma Parva) gives an account which is essentially the same, and many of the stanzas are common to it and the different Purāṇas.

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According to the Purāṇas (except the Padma), the world comprises of seven 'dwīpas.' A 'dwīpa' literally means 'land between two arms of water'. It may signify and 'island', a 'peninsula' or a 'doab' (between two rivers). In ancient Sanskrit literature it has often been used to mean only a division of land (big or small) and no more. These seven dwīpas are so arranged that the central one (called the Jambū Dwīpa) is surrounded by an ocean of salt water. Round this ocean is land again which forms the second dwīpa. This dwīpa in its turn is encompassed by the ocean of sugarcane-juice and so on. Thus there are seven dwīpas or Lands and seven seas (or oceans). The areas of each continent and ocean are such that they increase in simple geometrical progression according to their distance from the central dwīpa.

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The order in which the dwīpas occur is not uniform in all the Purāṇas. The sequence given in different Purāṇas is summarised in the following table (see pp. 28-9).

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All the Purāṇas are agreed at least on one particular point, i.e., the place assigned to Jambū Dwīpa. All, except the Skanda, further agree in designating Puṣkara as the seventh dwīpa and also maintain that the first ocean is briny, while the last one contains fresh water. It may, however, be noted that the Mahābhārata and the Padma Purāṇa enumerate only five dwīpas which signifies the Plakṣa and Sālmala may be later additions to the list of dwīpas.

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Each dwīpa is named after a founder who is one of the sons of Prajāvrats. Each of them founds a kingdom or dynasty in his dwīpa. With one exception, each of these heroes begets seven sons and the kingdom of his dwīpa is divided into seven principalities, one principality being assigned to each of the seven sons. Again each dwīpa has seven mountain ranges and seven rivers.

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The names of the principalities or sub-regions in each dwīpa are derived in most of the Purāṇas from the names of the founders' sons. In some Purāṇas some of the dwīpas themselves and of the sub-regions are named after the mountain ranges.

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With one or two exceptions, the element of caste appears in these dwīpas. The castes are invariably four, corresponding to the four castes obtaining in India, though they are known by other names and are distinctive in the several dwīpas.

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As we shall presently see the dwīpas differ in details in different Purāṇas. The name of each of the dwīpas is identical with the name of a colossal tree or plant growing in that dwīpa. Only Krauñcha Dwīpa gets its name from the local mountain bearing that name.

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The idea of seven continents, seven iqlims (climates), seven keśwars (empires), seven seas, seven lands and seven skies is quite old, but it appears for the first time in the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata.¹

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Before we trace the evolution of the Purāṇic cosmography it would be interesting to see how similar notions prevailed among the other nations of the world, particularly among the Arabs, the Persians, the Greeks and the Chinese. The Arabs borrowed from the Greeks the division of the habitable world into seven climates. This division is based on the relative length of days and nights. Ptolemy counted, in his 'Geography', twenty climates²; but some more ancient authors had recognized seven climates³, and it was the latter which the Arabs adopted. The seven climates included all the portion of the globe to which the ancients and the Arabs gave the name of the 'habitable quarter' of the world. The Arabs and the ancients, however, were agreed that there existed habitable earths even beyond the seven climates⁴.

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The Arabs understood by the word 'climate' a terrestrial zone parallel to the equator, where the difference between the length of the day and the night at summer solstice amounted to half an hour. But there was no agreement regarding the point of commencement and ultimate boundary of the seven climates. Abul Fida considered the first climate to commence at the 12th degree n. lat. and the last climate extended to the 50th degree⁵.

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| Continents & oceans | Bhagawata, Garuda, Vāmana, Brahma, Mārkaṇḍeya, Liṅga, Kūrma, Matsya Brahmāṇḍa, Agni, Vāyu, Devi & Viṣṇu | Varāha | Skanda | Mahābhārata & Padma | Siddhānta Śiromaṇi |
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) |
| 1 | Jambū | Jambū | Jambū | Jambū | Jambū | Jambū |
| 1a | Salt water (Lavaṇa) | Salt water | Salt water | Salt water | — | — |
| 2 | Plakṣa | Śaka | Śaka | Śaka | Śaka | Śaka |
| 2a | Sugarcane Juice (Ikṣu) | Milk | Milk | Milk | — | — |
| 3 | Śālmala (i) | Kuśa | Kuśa | Kuśa | Kuśa | Śālmala |
| 3a | Wine (Surā) | Ghee | Curd | Wine | — | — |
| 4 | Kuśa | Krauñca | Krauñca | Krauñca | Krauñca | Kuśa |

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| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) |
| 4a | Ghee (Sarpi) | Curd | Ghee | Curd | — | — |
| 5 | Krauñca | Śālmala | Śālmala | Krauñca | Puṣkara | Krauñca |
| 5a | Curd (Dadhi) | Wine | Wine | Ghee | — | — |
| 6 | Śaka | Gomeda (ka) | Gomeda | Śālmala | — | Gomeda (ka) |
| 6a | Milk (Kṣīr) | Sugarcane | Sugarcane | Sugarcane juice | — | — |
| 7 | Puṣkara | Puṣkara | Puṣkara | Puṣkara | Gomeda | — |
| 7a | Fresh water (Swaduda) | Fresh water | Fresh water | Fresh water | Fresh water | — |

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a = Surrounded by an ocean of:

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Romaka Siddhānta names Jambū, Kuśa Candra, Śālmala, Plakṣa, Gomeda and Puṣkara (i.e., Candra and Gomeda for Krauñca and Śaka).

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Yogavāsiṣṭha 3.73.52-8 gives: Jambū, Śaka, Kuśa, Śveta, Krauñca, Gomeda and Puṣkara.

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The idea of climatic divisions was initiated by the Greeks. The word 'climate' itself indicates it, having been derived from a Greek term 'klima' meaning 'inclination'. In fact the idea of climates was based more or less on the inclination of the sun in relation to the equator. The idea of climate was adopted by the Persians in the early centuries of the Christian era, when Greek ideas invaded the East. Probably it was the same with Indians. Among the Persians, and later among the Arabs, the word 'climate' was written 'iqlim'.

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But beyond its acceptance in astronomy, the word 'climate' received among the Persians (and later among other nations), the signification of empire and nation. We know that like the Indians the Persians believed in the existence of seven earths separated from one another by seas and that while the Indians gave the name of Jambū Dwīpa to the inhabited earth, the Persians called it 'Khonneretz-Bami'. The Khonneretz, according to the Persians included Iran-Verj, Kang-dez, Jamgard and Kashmīr.6 The Persians, later divided the world into seven empires or rather seven nations which they sometimes called by the indigenous name of kishwars and at other times by the name of 'climates'. These seven empires, as mentioned in the Zend Avestā, are: the Tazi or Arabs, Irān or Persia, Mazendran or the Slav races, Turān or the land of Turks, Rum or Roman Empire, Sind and India and lastly Chinistan or China.7 In the Chahnāmā, the seven kishwars are—China, India, Turān or Turkistan, the Roman Empire, Africa, the land of the Slavs and Irān. We find the name of the Romans included in this scheme, which leaves no room for doubt that this division was not made earlier than the Christian era. As regards the word Irān and Turān, it is known that these are the two denominations which have been employed by the Persians since remote antiquity, the first indicating Persia and the second indicating in a general manner the nations established at that time north of the Oxus.

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The Chinese, according to Abū Zaid divided the world into five major political divisions.8 The Emperor of China, he says, told him, 'We count five great sovereigns. The richest of them reigns over Iraq (the province of Baghdad), because Iraq is situated in the centre of the world and other kings are placed round him. He bears the title of "the King of Kings". After this Empire comes ours; the sovereign is named "the King of Peoples" because no other king on the earth maintains better order in his states, and rules; there are hardly any people who are more loyal to their prince than are our people. He is, therefore, in reality "the King of People". After that comes the "King of Ferocious Beasts", viz. the King of the Turks with his state adjacent to China. The fourth in rank is the "King of Elephants", namely, the King of India. We call him the "King of Wisdom" because wisdom is the special characteristic of the Indians. Lastly comes the "Emperor of the Romans" whom we call the "King of Beautiful People", not because they are beautiful but because no other people excel the Romans in physique. These are the principal kings, others occupy only a secondary position. The title of the 'King of People' which the Emperor of China adopted apparently meant 'the King of Humanity in general'. The title of the 'King of Ferocious Beasts' belongs, specifically to the ruler of the Turks, called by contemporary writers by the name of Tagazgaz. According to Masūdī, no other people on earth were more brutal, more given to shedding blood, or rearing of horses, than the Turks.

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Another Chinese tradition which goes back to the period of the firm establishment of Buddhism there is East of the Tsing-Ling mountain is the "King of People" (Emperor of China) who bears this title on account of the enormous population of this part of the world. These people have refined manners. Humanity, justice and science flourish there and the land is sweet and pleasant. South of China lies the empire of the "King of Elephants" (or the King of India). This country is hot and humid. It suits the elephants, hence its name. The inhabitants are ferocious and violent, they are devoted to magic and occult sciences, but they also believe in purifying their hearts, and in escaping from the vicissitudes of life and death by sundering worldly ties. On the west is the empire of the "King of Precious Commodities" (the King of Persia, known later by the title of the Caliph of Baghdad). This land touches the sea which produces pearls and precious objects, and which give it its name. The inhabitants do not practise any rites (Buddhist) nor do they have any social laws. They only have an inordinate love for riches. To the north lies the empire of the "King of Horses". The land is cold and hard and is suitable for raising horses. The inhabitants are brave and cruel. They know how to endure death and face danger.¹⁰ It is to be noted that by Tsing-Ling mountains, the Chinese usually meant the Pāmir Plateau and its ranges. It coincides with the Meru of the Purāṇas.¹¹

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Let us now consider how the idea of the seven dwīpas originated and developed in Purāṇic cosmography. The source of all Purāṇic notions, as mentioned earlier can be traced back to the Vedic literature and the Epics, in the present case to the Epics. We shall therefore first of all discuss in detail the regional division of the world which can be deduced from various statements made in the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa and compare them with corresponding concepts in the Buddhist and the Jain literature. At the same time we shall endeavour to examine in relation to the source material the varying and sometimes conflicting details of the various dwīpas as given in different Purāṇas.

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The most ancient concept of the earth¹² was that of four dwipas or regions, i.e., Jambū, Uttarakuru, Ketumāla and Bhadrāśwa¹³ partially surrounded by four seas.¹⁴ These four countries were grouped around Meru (south, north, west and east respectively) like the petals of a lotus.

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Similarly the Harivaṃśa¹⁵ names Uttarakuru, Bhadrāśwa, Ketumāla and Jambū Dwīpa. In two of the passages, the region of Yama is substituted for the southern Jambū Dwīpa. Although seven dwipas and seven seas are mentioned¹⁶ in several passages, there is no mention anywhere of a single Purāṇic dwipa, whereas the names of the four dwipas are given.

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The Mahābhārata (12, 14, 21-5) presents a different account. It is stated there that Yudhiṣṭira formerly ruled Jambū Dwīpa; Krauñca Dwīpa like Jambū Dwīpa and situated west of Meru; Śaka Dwīpa like Krauñca Dwīpa and situated east of Meru; and Bhadrāśwa equal in size to Śaka Dwīpa and situated north of Meru'.

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The above observations are corroborated by the earliest Buddhist cosmology¹⁷ where the original concept has been overlaid by Purāṇic ideas but the theory of concentric dwipas is clearly secondary. Especially noteworthy are the passages in the Mahāvastu and the Lalitavistāra which mention only the four dwipas—Jambū Dwīpa, Pūrvavideha, Aparagodānīya and Uttarakuru (grouped around Meru to the south, east, west and north respectively)—and constituting the whole world, ‘Lokadhātu’ and give no hint of the Purāṇic geography. They most probably represent an older period than does the Mahābhārata (6, 5-12) in its present form. The general idea is the same, the particular names vary.

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It is noteworthy that geography of the Sūrya-Siddhānta (12. 38-40)¹⁸ is based entirely on this earlier concept. The Jain texts in general seem to be closer to the Purāṇic concept than are the Buddhist texts, but the oldest texts need further investigation in this respect. Some texts give eight or nine, others as many as nineteen dwipas. The names and the order of such elements as agree with the Purāṇic elements differ considerably from the names and order of the Purāṇic tradition which is itself not always consistent, but many elements are common to both the traditions. There are, however, traces of traditions intermediate between the theory of four dwipas as outlined above and the Purāṇic theory of several concentric dwipas. Weber ¹⁹ describes a theory of two concentric oceans and three (or two and half) dwipas. In the centre is the Jambū Dwīpa, divided by six parallel mountain ranges into seven regions. The mountains from south to north are named Himavat, Mahāhimavat, Niṣadha, Nilavata, Rūpya and Śikharin, Harivarsa, Videhaka, Ramyaka, Airanyavata and Airavata.²⁰ Surrounding Jambū Dwīpa is the salt water ocean. Then comes Dhāta- [Figure: THE WORLD OF THE MAHĀBHĀRATA DIAGRAMMATIC]

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kikhaṇḍa (or Dhātukikhaṇḍa) surrounded by an ocean of fresh water. Then comes Puṣkaradvīpa, the outer half of which is shut off by the Maṇisottara mountains which cause perpetual darkness there. The outer half of Puṣkaradvīpa is named Mahāvīra. The earliest Jaina cosmography deserves a closer study and comparison with early Buddhist and Hindu cosmography.

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In its description of Sudarśana¹ (evidently equivalent to Jambū Dvīpa) the Kumbhakonam edition of the Mahābhārata (6.5.17) used the words: 'Dviramasas tu tataḥ Plakṣa dviramsaḥ Sālmalir maham, dviramsaḥ Fippalastasya dviramsas ca Kuśo maham.' The Bombay and Calcutta editions omit the first line and read: 'Dviramse Pippalas tatra dviramse ca Saśa maham.' In 6.6.2 all three editions read Pippala and Saśa. In 6.6.13 all three editions have Bhadrāśva, Ketumāla, Jambū Dvīpa and Uttarakuru. Noteworthy is the intrusion of Plakṣa in the Kumbhakonam edition, which is mentioned nowhere else in the Epic except in this passage of the Kumbhakonam edition. The context does not support the Kumbhakonam reading, but these particular names would hardly have been used, even in a late interpolation after they had become crystallised as the names of concentric dvīpas. They are named here as parts of Jambū Dvīpa, not as independent dvīpas. If the line is an interpolation, it seems to come from a period earlier than that of the Purāṇic geography.

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Intermediate between the simple conception of the four dvīpas grouped around Meru and the Purāṇic theory of seven dvīpas surrounded by and surrounding seven concentric oceans (Jambū, Plakṣa, Sālmalī, Kuśa, Krauñca, Sāka ad Puṣkara surrounded respectively by the oceans of salt water, sugarcane juice, wine, clarified butter, milk, curd and fresh water) is the description of Mahābhārata 6, 11-12. In 6, 11, 1-3 after a description of Jambū Dvīpa has been given, Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya for a description of Sāka, Kuśa, Sālmalī and Krauñca. In 6.11.4 is the statement: 'O King! this world is composed of very many dvīpas, but I shall describe to you only seven dvīpas and also the Sun and the Moon and the planets'.² After a brief description of Jambū Dvīpa comes a description of Sakadvīpa which is surrounded on all sides by the sea of milk (6.11.10), but no statement is made concerning its direction from Jambū Dvīpa. Then in 6.12.1 occurs the statement, 'Uttareṣu ca Kauravya, dvīpeṣu śrūyate Kathā, evam tatra mahārāja brucataś ca nibodha me'. After this, oceans of clarified butter, curd, wine and water and the dvīpas, Kuśa, Sālmalī and Krauñca are enumerated. In verse 24 is the statement: 'In Puṣkara dvīpa there is a mountain called Puṣkara full of gems and jewels' and in verse 26 it is stated that various gems come there from Jambū Dvīpa. No specific ocean is mentioned in connection with it and there is no explicit statement to the effect that it is situated in the north. But in verse 3 it is said that the dwīpas double in size as one goes north and that they are surrounded by these oceans. That seemingly makes it necessary to include Puṣkara among the northern dwīpas and to connect it with the ocean of fresh water, yet in verse 9 it is said that in 'the middle dwīpa' (that rules out Puṣkara the fourth)²² is a large mountain named Kṛṣṇa²³ which is a favourite abode of Nārāyaṇa. Paścima usually means 'western' which seems out of place here. Yet Kṛṣṇa is not included in the six mountains of Krauñca-dwīpa, nor is it mentioned in the description of Puṣkaradwīpa. The dilemma is one from which there is no escape on the basis of our uncritical editions of the Mahābhārata. The matter is further complicated by the fact that in the request for information only Śākadwīpa, Kuśadwīpa, Sālmalidwīpa and Krauñca-dwīpa are named. After including Jambū these make five. In 6.11.4 a description of seven dwīpas was promised, but only six are actually described. A description of Puṣkaradwīpa, not asked for, is given and in both request and answer Plakṣadwīpa is omitted. Surely the number seven is not to be taken literally. The description of Śākadwīpa is so clearly marked off from that of the dwīpas which are said to be situated in the north that there is no valid reason for believing that it too was located in the north. More details are given about it than about the other dwīpas. The names of the four castes living there are given. This detail is extended by the Purāṇas to the other dwīpas also. Its seven mountains including Meru seem to be modelled on the seven Kulaparvatas of Jambū Dwīpa. It is assigned second place and seems to be more historical than the other dwīpas.

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Significant is the fact that while the Mahābhārata states that the dwīpas are surrounded by oceans, nowhere is it stated that the dwīpas surround the oceans. The Mahābhārata does not show any knowledge of the theory of concentric circles of land. Its dwīpas are really islands or doabs. The Purāṇic theory may be due merely to a misunderstanding of this passage of the Mahābhārata, or distant islands and peninsulas such as Indo-China, Jāvā, Sumātrā and Arabia may have been regarded as forming circles of land.

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In the Purāṇic accounts Śākadwīpa is usually placed sixth in order, but there is a different theory which places it second in order, and this latter tradition seems to be the earlier one. In the passage just quoted from the Mahābhārata Śākadwīpa is assigned second place and more details are given about it than about the other dwīpas.

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If the Śākadwīpa of Mahābhārata (6.11) is not to be located in the north there are many clues as to its probable location. The Mahābhārata (12, 14, 23, quoted above) unequivocally locates Sākadvīpa east of Meru. A passage in the Bhāskara (quoted by Wilson in Viṣṇu Purāṇa, 2.110.1) says:

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Venerable teachers have stated that Jambū Dvīpa embraces the whole northern hemisphere lying to the north of the Salt Sea and that the other six dvīpas and the (seven) seas, viz., those of Salt, Milk, etc. are all situated in the southern hemisphere. To the south of the equator lies the Salt Sea, and to the north of it, the Sea of Milk whence sprang the nectar, the moon and the (goddess) Śrī and where the omnipresent Vāsudeva, to whose lotus feet Brahmā and all the gods bow in reverence, has his favourite residence. Beyond the Sea of Milk lie, in succession, the seas of curd, clarified butter, sugarcane juice and wine, and, last of all, that of sweet water which surrounds Vaḍavānala.

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Even more significant is the passage in the Rāmāyaṇa (4.40) which contains a long description of the journey made by the monkeys eastward (verses 19.54) in search of Sītā. It said there that the searchers, after leaving India, will first come to Yavadwīpa (probably Jāvā), Saptarajyo-paśobhitam and Suvarṇarūpyakadvīpāni, Suvarṇakaramanditam,²⁵ then to a mountain named Śiśira,²⁶ then to a river (Soṇa) then to an ocean (Kālameghapratimam), then to an ocean (Raktajalam Lohitam)²⁷ where there is Kuṭaśālmali, then to the Pāṇḍurameghābham Kṣirodam, in the midst of which is a mountain (mahāna śveta Ṛsabho nāma parvatah) containing the Sudarśana lake, then to the Jalodama which contains the Hayamukha (whirlpool). On the northern shore of this ocean is a mountain (Jalarūpaśilo nāma Sumahān kanakaprabhah) and beyond this to the east, the Udayagiri, one peak of which is named Saumanasa. In Gorresio's edition which differs considerably from the above account, the stages of the journey are marked by the following names: Jaladwīpa, Gaṇadwīpa, Jambū-dwīpa, Śiśira, Kālodaka, Lohita (with the Kuṭaśālmali) Mt. Gośṛnga, Kṣiroda (with Mt. Aṅśumat and Lake Sudarśana), Ghṛtoda, Jalarūpaśilā, Udayagiri and Saumanasa. The first three names are puzzling. The ocean (Kālameghapratimam or Kāloda) is comparable to the Kāloda, which, in some Jain accounts, surrounds the second dwīpa Dhātaki. Lohita is comparable to the red ocean of wine (Surā) which surrounds Sālmalidwīpa; the mention of the Kuṭaśālmali makes the identification certain. Kṣiroda corresponds to the ocean of milk which surrounds Sākadvīpa²⁸. The Ghṛtoda can be identified with the Ghṛtoda which surrounds Kuśadwīpa. Jaloda corresponds to the ocean of fresh water which surrounds Puṣkaradwīpa, while Hayamukha is identical with the Vaḍavāmukha or Vaḍavānala of the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas.²⁹ The passage seems to be old, older even than the geographical passage in the Mahābhārata (6). It probably reflects travellers' accounts of voyages to the east. It is to be noted also that Rāmāyaṇa 4.42.38 for obvious reasons locates Meru in the west, not in the north.

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Jātaka No. 463, contains a description of a voyage made by a ship from Bharukaccha. After a favourable voyage lasting seven days it was swept away by a storm. At the end of four months it reached the Khuramāla Sea (so called because it was full of great fish which stuck their sharp razor-like snouts above the water); then it passed through the seas named Agnimāla²⁰ (blazing like fire), Dahimāla (the colour of curds), Nilavaṇṇa-Kusamāla or Kusamāla (the colour of kuśa grass), Nalamāla (red like coral),²¹ and came to the Valabhamukha.²² Dadhimāla corresponds to the Purāṇic ocean of curds. Kusamāla is the same as the Purāṇic Kuśadvīpa. Nalamāla is identical with the Purāṇic red ocean of wine. Valabhamukha is the same as the Hayamukha of the Rāmāyaṇa. This Jātaka also is evidently based on travellers' narratives and contains early elements. This is much more probable than the opposite conclusion, namely, that we have here reminiscences of the Purāṇic descriptions made still more mythical. The direction of the voyage is not given, but if the comparison with the account in the Rāmāyaṇa has any validity it may well have been to the east.

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The Mahābhārata (6.6.55) describes Kāśyapadvīpa and Nāgadvīpa as forming the two ears of Sasa—the 'hare' (a portion of Jambū Dvīpa), situated in the north and south respectively.²³ The Kumbhakonam edition reads Śākadvīpa for Nāgadvīpa. The fact that in the Purāṇas Nāgadvīpa is regularly described as one of the nine varṣas of Bhāratvarṣa militates against the text of the Kumbhakonam edition, even so Śākadvīpa would hardly have been inserted in the southern text if it had been regarded as one of the concentric dvīpas. Kāśyapadvīpa does not seem to occur in the Purāṇic tradition.

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From the above discussion it would appear that there is considerable confusion regarding the number, location and contents of various dvīpas in our ancient literature. This confusion has created difficulties in their identification and classification. However, there are a few basic facts which emerge from the preceding paragraphs and which could serve as a background for the study and recognition of Purāṇic dvīpas as regional units on the surface of the earth. These facts are as follows:

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(i) The word 'dvīpa' originally signified a land bounded by water (ocean, sea, river or lake or by a combination of these) on all or three or two sides. Thus it was equally applied to an island, a peninsula or a 'doab'.²⁴ The Arabs extended the corresponding word 'jezira' to a land surrounded by water bodies or sand wastes, which made that land inaccessible from almost all sides. Thus their 'jezira' could signify a land surrounded by a desert (an oasis), a land surrounded by water on one side and desert on the other (Algeria), a land between two rivers (Mesopotamia), etc. The Purāṇas appear to have further extended the meaning of the term ‘dwīpa’ to include ‘any land which was ordinarily inaccessible or detached by virtue of its being surrounded by water, sand, swamp or even high mountains or thick forests’. Thus the Purāṇic ‘dwīpa’, by accident or design, came to signify a natural region—either physiographic or climatic. It will be realised presently that if we accept this broad definition of a ‘dwīpa’, practically all the Purāṇic dwīpas satisfy these conditions to a very large extent.

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(ii) The term ‘dwīpa’ (and its counterpart among other nations of the world) was subsequently applied to and associated with kingdoms, empires, provinces and even districts, and a ‘dwīpa’ instead of signifying only a natural region as envisaged in para (i) above included a ‘human’ region, i.e., the territory of a nation or a human group. Thus, although the number ‘seven’ persisted in the geographical literature of the world, the word ‘dwīpa’ was used for all types of natural or human regions—big or small. Thus ‘dwīpas’, wherever they were used in the latter sense, were subject to expansion, contraction or extinction as ‘human regions’ usually do. Consequently the discrepancies regarding their location or existence in different Purāṇas may have roots in history.

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(iii) When the Purāṇas describe the world, they mean the ‘inhabitable or inhabited world’. Their ‘world’ is identical with the ‘Ruba-al-Mamūr’ (‘inhabitable quarter of the world’) of the Arabs. It is almost certain that uninhabited, desert or desolate lands did not find a place in their scheme of the regional division of the world—i.e., in their ‘seven dwīpas’. In other words if we want to locate their ‘dwīpas’ on the modern map, we should at once ignore or ‘subtract’ the negative areas from the world map altogether.

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(iv) Oceans or seas of milk, curd, clarified butter, sugarcane juice or wine should not be taken too literally. Oceanic waters differ in colour, salinity, density, turbulence, percentage and colour of silt, bottom deposits or organic growth (e.g., corals). They give some superficial character to the water bodies which are often named after them. The White Sea, the Black Sea, the Red Sea, the Yellow Sea, the Green Sea (‘Behr-i-Arzaq’ of the Arabs), the Blue Nile and White Nile, etc. do not signify the actual colour of the water but indicate a characteristic caused by the presence of impurities or other features of their surface or bottom or their contents.

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(v) When dealing with ancient geography, particularly when traditions go back to a period thousands of years before the Christian era, it is necessary to visualise the climate, vegetation, topographic details and population distribution which existed in those times and which have been changing since then. Changes in climate, river courses, their water content and the nature of their sediments, the filling up of depressions, changes in the level of the land or the sea, deposition of sand over large areas and erosion of minor relief features effect the vegetation cover and have to be taken into account before one attempts to reconstruct the world map of the ancients. Human groups and their distribution react and respond quickly to these changes and the 'human' regions (or dwīpas) with which the Purāṇas are chiefly concerned are bound to change in size and importance.

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Various 'theories' have been propounded regarding the identity of the Seven Dwīpas of the Purāṇas, which can be classified on the basis of their identification. They fall under the following categories:

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(1) That the Seven Dwīpas are nothing but fanciful fables.³⁵ This view is untenable, since, in spite of obvious discrepancies which may have been introduced into the Purāṇic texts by various factors including the poetic element dominating geographical descriptions, there appears an element of truth and reality in the case of many of the dwīpas which leads one to believe in the existence of others as well.

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(2) That the Seven Dwīpas are nothing but seven stellar planes,³⁶ i.e. imaginary spheres round the earth in which dwell beings which are different from those which live on the earth. This may be acceptable to some, but this is exactly what the Purāṇas never intended to convey. If that was intended they would not have hesitated to add a few more stellar planes to those which have been specifically mentioned, viz. the Mahar-Loka, Tapa-Loka and Satya-Loka. Besides, the Purāṇas associate the dwīpas with real mountains and rivers and divide them into 'Varṣas'.

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(3) That the Seven Dwīpas represent the successive changes in the earth's crust during different geological periods. This view is obviously farfetched since the whole of the Purāṇic world and animals and man, pertain to the most recent or current geological period of earth's history and have no relation with the past geological periods in the accepted sense of the word.

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(4) That the Seven Dwīpas correspond to:

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(a) Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, North and South Americas and Antarctica.

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(b) The 'Seven Climates' of the ancients.

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(c) Various lands in the old world:

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i. Jambū (India); Plakṣa (Arakan and Burma); Kuśa (Sunda Archipelago); Śālmali (Malaya Peninsula); Krauñca (South India), Saka (Kamboja) and Puṣkara (N. China and Mongolia).³⁷

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ii. Jambū (India); Kuśa (Iran); Plakṣa (Asia Minor); Śālmali (Central Europe); Krauñca (Western Europe); Saka (British Isles) and Puṣkara (Iceland).³⁸

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iii. Jambū (India); Krauñca (Asia Minor); Gomeda (Komedie, Tartary); Puṣkara (Turkistan); Saka (Scythia); Kuśa (Iran, Arabia and Ethiopia); Plakṣa (Greece); Śālmali (Sarmatia?)³⁹

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The fundamental error which these scholars made was that they tried to identify the Purāṇic dwipas by their mountains and rivers which are enumerated in the Purāṇas. This approach is far from satisfactory. One can place and name any seven rivers in a major region of the world and distort their names according to convenience to suit one's arguments. Purāṇic description (or enumeration) of rivers and mountains in a dwipa can be applied to any region and is therefore misleading. There are other basic natural factors such as climate and vegetation which give personality to a region and regions can be identified with a fair degree of certainty if we know their climate and vegetation. It is particularly so when we equate a 'dwipa' with a 'human region' which derives its identity from human groups on the surface of the earth. It has already been pointed out that human grouping or population distribution is intimately connected with, and profoundly affected by, climate and vegetation cover. Let us apply these principles to the Purāṇic dwipas.

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If we read the Purāṇic description of Śākadwīpa, keeping the climatic and vegetational data foremost, we learn that:

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1. In Śākadwīpa, besides the traditional seven sacred rivers, 'there are hundreds and thousands of minor streams'; implying that this dwipa is a region of abundant rainfall.

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2. Śāka or teak is the distinctive tree of this dwipa which, considering the climatic requirement of teak must be situated within the 'Monsoon Belt'.

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3. Viṣṇu is devoutly worshipped there as the Sun, which points to its being an eastern region.

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Let us, therefore, find a region of very heavy rainfall, thickly forested, abundant in teak and situated to the east of Jambū Dwīpa. Śākadwīpa will consequently be that part of Monsoon Asia which satisfies these conditions.

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The monsoon lands of Asia where teak is found include Burma, Malaya, Siam and Indo-China. Of these, Burma and Malaya traditionally formed units of the adjacent Peninsulas and Islands of Bhāratavarṣa.¹⁰ Śākadvīpa, therefore, can be identified with Malaya, Siam, Indo-China and Southern China or the South-Eastern corner of the land mass of which Jambū Dvīpa occupied the centre. The turbulent and foamy sea known as the Southern China Sea which surrounds this dvīpa on three sides was called 'The Sea of Milk,' or 'Kṣīra Samudra' as conceived by the Purāṇas. It is to be noted that in the Matsya, Varāha, Padma and Skanda Purāṇas as well as in the Mahābhārata and the Siddhānta Śiromaṇi, Śākadvīpa appears next to the Jambū Dvīpa and one could approach it by crossing the Kṣīra Samudra or the Bay of Bengal. This identification is supported by the following facts:

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(a) Śākadvīpa was, according to early traditions, east of Meru as evidenced in Mahābhārata (12, 14, 21-5) and Rāmāyaṇa (quoted above).

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(b) It is usually placed sixth in order of enumeration in the majority of the Purāṇas (see Table above), but some Purāṇas and other authorities place it as second. The later tradition seems to be the earlier one. It appears that in the former case the enumeration of dvīpas starts from south-west of Jambū towards the north through west and then again from south-east to north-east. In the latter case the enumeration starts from the southeast of Jambū Dvīpa to its south-west then to the west, then to the north, and finally to the east. In either case the position of the Śākadvīpa remains in the southeast of Jambū Dvīpa and that of Puṣkara to the east of Jambū Dvīpa.

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Kuśadvīpa

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The following features of Kuśadvīpa are described in the Purāṇas (Matsya, 45-77):

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(1) The characteristic natural vegetation of the dvīpa is 'kuśa' or poa grass. In addition to 'flowers and fruits, various varieties of trees, cereals and mineral wealth are plentiful there; and the trees are always laden with flowers and fruits....'

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(2) It contains seven major rivers and 'thousands of their branches that run when Indra pours down rain'. In other words in this dvīpa the rivers are non-perennial, i.e., they flow during the rainy season only.

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(3) It contains mountains covered with herbs, trees and creepers (not snow-covered and bare), a mountain of yellow orpiment (unnata) and a volcanic mountain (Mahisa-Agni) rising out of the sea. Another mountain is ‘Kakudmāna’ also known as the Mandara. It is full of all kinds of minerals and precious stones, and is guarded by Indra himself. The word ‘manda’ means water and since it scatters water it is called Mandara, in the company of Brahmā for the good of the people. The description of the last mountain suggests a higher mountain with abundant rainfall as compared with others and from which water is carried by rivers to other parts of the dwīpa which are less rainy or comparatively dry. Its association with Indra also suggests a long dry season.

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(4) The dwīpa surrounds the ‘ocean of milk’ and is surrounded by the ‘ocean of curd’ or the ‘ocean of ghee’ (Gharita) (Vāyu).

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(5) The presiding deity of the dwīpa is Agni (Fire-God) (Bhāgavata).

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The overall picture of the Kuśadwīpa as painted by the Purāṇic literature suggests a ‘grassland’, i.e., a region of seasonal drought. There are two such belts (i.e., grassland belts) in the old world—the tropical grasslands, i.e., the Savannahs and the temperate grasslands, the steppes. The Purāṇas in all probability refer to the former and not to the latter since starting from the equator it is the 2nd climatic belt towards the Poles. The reference to Agni is rather pointed and brings out the association of this region with the fire-worshippers of Iran and South-Western Asia. Kuśadwīpa therefore included Iran, Iraq and the fringing lands of the hot desert, i.e., the south-western corner of the land mass round Meru which is left out in the regional pattern of Jambū Dwīpa. Incidentally, this region also coincides with the land of Kuśa of the scripture which added Ethiopia to the Purāṇic dwīpa mentioned above.

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*Plakṣadwīpa*

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In the majority of Purāṇas it is a dwīpa next to Jambū. In some it is omitted and its place is taken by Gomeda (Skanda, Matsya, Varāha Purāṇas and Siddhānta Śiromaṇi). It does not appear in the list of dwīpas given in the Padma Purāṇa and the Mahābhārata.

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Besides the seven mountains, seven rivers, seven varṣas, seven rulers and four castes there is again in the description of this dwīpa a definite pointer to the identification of the dwīpa that is the true ‘Plakṣa’ from which the dwīpa derives its name. ‘Plakṣa’ is the Pākhar tree which is characteristic of warm temperate or Mediterranean lands. Wilford identifies this tree with willow and others with fig. Willow is definitely incorrect while, fig may be possible. One would, therefore, without hesitation identify this dwīpa with the basin of the Mediterranean which is the third climatic belt north of the Equator in the northern hemisphere.

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According to Wilford,¹ 'The name still persists in Placia, a town in Mysia, the inhabitants of which, with those in Scylace, had a peculiar language, which was the same with that spoken by the Pelasgi of Cristone or Crotone, about Tyrrhanians in Italy, and by the Pelasgi, who lived on the shores of the Hellespont, according to Herodotus. Thus the denomination of Plakṣa or Palengṣa seems to be the same with Placia and Pelagsia and the Pelasgi came originally from the lesser Asia'. The view is also supported by V. V. Iyer² who identifies Plakṣa dvīpa with Greece and adjoining lands.

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