Cosmography and Geography in Early Indian Literature c6.s2.21

c6.s2.21

According to the Buddhists, the Jambu-dvīpa derives its name from the Jambu-tree (also called naga) which grows there. Its trunk is 15 yojanas in girth, its outstanding branches 50 yojanas in length and its height and the extent of its shade 100 yojanas each in extent. For the said tree, the dvīpa is also called Jambu-saṇḍa. The continent is 10,000 yojanas in extent, of which 4,000 are covered by the sea and 3000 each are occupied by the Himavat range and by human habitations. The number of the cities in the Jambu-dvīpa during Aśoka’s reign was 84000, and, in each one of them, the Maurya king built a monastery. The Buddhas and Cakravartins are only born in this dvīpa and the Buddha Gautama declared that the people of the Jambu-dvīpa excel those of Uttara-Kuru and of Trayastriṃśa, the second of the 6 Deva-worlds.²⁴ The Puranic views on the names Jambu-dvīpa, Bhadrāśva and Ketumāla will be discussed later in connection with the seven-continent theory. But a word requires to be said here about the Buddhist names Pūrva-Videha and Apara-Godāna (Apara-Goyāna in Pali).