The Geography of the Puranas c7.s5.1

c7.s5.1

The accounts of this dvīpa are given in different Purāṇas at considerable length. The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa says that there is no rainfall, no springs, no fountains in this dvīpa nor is there any vegetation. The Skanda says that between the two provinces of Puṣkaradvīpa (Mahāvitam and Dhātake Khaṇḍam) runs the mountain Mānasa in a circle (like a full moon-Matsya). The account in the Varāha and Viṣṇu is much the same. The note in the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa about the mountain chains being one in two or two in one appears also in the Liṅga and Kūrma Purāṇas. All the Purāṇas agree that the exterior province is Mahāvitam and the interior is Dhātaki. It is stated in the Matsya Purāṇa that the Mahāvitam is the western portion and exterior to the mountain. The Vāmana Purāṇa and the Garuḍa Purāṇa give a harrowing account of the prevailing climatic conditions and dwell on the fiendish savagery of the tribes living in it. It says, 'The dvīpa is a land of horrors, devoid of purity, cruel and leading to the destruction of the soul. It is the land of demons, full of awful hells twentyone in number'. Other Purāṇas, however, mention Puṣkara dvīpa as a paradise (Viṣṇu) which conflicts with the text of the above descriptions.