The Geography of the Puranas c8.187

c8.187

The Vāyu Purāṇa says that Uttara Kuru lies beyond the Śṛṅgavān range towards the north. If this is Uttara Kuru, the question arises, ‘Where is the Kuru or Southern Kuru land?’ Uttar is a relative term meaning ‘north’ or ‘beyond’ some land. North America implies that there is a South America, North Pole implies that there is a South Pole; Dakṣiṇa Kośala implies that there is a Northern Kośala as well. In the Purāṇic accounts, Uttara Kuru is mentioned everywhere but the Dakṣiṇa Kuru or Kuru land (except where it replaces Uttara Kuru) is missing. Besides, the main river of the region between the Śṛṅgavān and the Sveta is Bhadrasomā, the great Northern River (see statement (d) above) and not Hiraṇyavatī as mentioned in (e), para 5.