The Geography of the Puranas c7.s5.65

c7.s5.65

Between the Niṣadha and Nīla there are three varṣas. The one round Meru and bounded by Gandhamādana on the west and Mālyavān on the east is Ilāvṛta Varṣa. On the east of Ilāvṛta Varṣa is Bhadravarṣa and on its west is Ketumāla. The relative positions of these ranges and the varṣas which they delimit are shown in the accompanying diagram of Jambū Dwīpa. This diagram does not incorporate one more characteristic of the northernmost and southernmost ranges, i.e., the Śṛṅgavān and Himavat (as given in some Purāṇas, for instance, the Matsya and the Vāyu) that both these ranges are curved like a bow with their concave sides towards the north and the south respectively.