A History of Sanskrit Literature c13.s1.5

c13.s1.5

The relationship of the *Matsya Purāṇa* to the great epic and its supplementary book as sources is similarly intimate. It is introduced with the story of Manu and the Fish (*Matsya*). The *Kūrma*, besides giving an account of the various Avatārs of Vishṇu (of which the tortoise or *kūrma* is one), of the genealogies of gods and kings, as well as other matters, contains an extensive account of the world in accordance with the accepted cosmological notions of the *Mahābhārata* and of the Purāṇas in general. The world is here represented as consisting of seven concentric islands separated by different oceans. The central island, with Mount Meru in the middle, is *Jambu-dvīpa*, of which *Bhārata-varsha*, the "kingdom of the Bharatas," or India, is the main division.