Cosmography and Geography in Early Indian Literature c6.s4.59

c6.s4.59

According to the post-Gupta work entitled Tiloyapaṇṇatti (V. 11-26), there are 16 inner and 16 outer islands forming the earth and each of them has an ocean beyond it. Of the 16 inner dvīpas, the first seven have been enumerated above; the other nine are the following: 1. Nandiśvara continent and ocean, 2. Aruṇavara continent and ocean, 3. Aruṇābhāsa continent and ocean, 4. Kuṇḍalavara continent and ocean, 5. Śaṅkhavara continent and ocean, 6. Rucakavara continent and ocean, 7. Bhujagavara continent and ocean, 8. Kuśavara continent and ocean, and 9. Krauñcavara continent and ocean. The 16 outer islands bear the following names each of which is also applied to the ocean beyond the island concerned: 1. Manaḥśilā, 2. Haritāla, 3. Sindūra, 4. Śyāma, 5. Añjanavara, 6. Hiṅgula, 7. Rūpya, 8. Kāñcanaka, 9. Vajravara, 10. Vaidūrya, 11. Nāgavara, 12. Bhūtavara, 13. Yakṣavara, 14. Devavara, 15. Ahīndravara, and 16. Svayambhūramaṇa. Of these Kuśa and Krauñca remind us of the Puranic list of the 7 dvīpas, Manaḥśilā of the Buddhist Manaḥśilātala and Rūpya and Kāñcana of the Ramayanic Suvarṇa-Rūpyaka-dvīpa to be mentioned below. The names Rucaka, Aruṇa, Śaṅkha, etc., are also found in the Purāṇas.