Historical Geography of Ancient India c5.s2.7

c5.s2.7

The exploration of practically the whole country had been completed in or about the fourth century B.C. The literature of the period, both Greek and Indian, shows acquaintance not only with the realm of the Pāṇḍyas in the south, but also with the island of Tāmraparṇi or Ceylon.⁶ The people felt the necessity of a comprehensive term for the territory extending from the Himalayas in the north to the sea in the south. The term was Jambudvīpa which was then used. In Buddhist literature Jambudvīpa figures as one of the four Mahādvīpas or the four great continents including India with Mt. Sineru (Sumeru) in the centre of them. A portion of Jambudvīpa known as the Aṅgadvīpa was inhabited by the Mlecchas according to the Vāyupurāṇa (48. 14–18).