Jambudvipa

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Jambudvīpa is the name of the continent of Earth, as envisioned in the cosmologies of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism where ordinary human beings live.

1 Puranic description
2 Real-world identification
3 In Buddhism
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Puranic description

According to Puranic cosmography, the earth is divided into seven concentric island continents (sapta-dvipa vasumati) separated by the seven encircling seas, each double the size of the preceding one. The seven continents of the Puranas are stated as Jambudvipa, Plaksadvipa, Salmalidvipa, Kushadvipa, Krounchadvipa, Shakadvipa, and Pushkaradvipa. These continents are said to be surrounded by seven oceans, consisting respectively of salt-water, sugarcane juice, wine, ghee, curd, milk and water (Agni Purana 108.1-2, Matsya Purana Ch 121-122).

Continent Jambudvipa (Rose Apple Island), also known as Sudarshandvipa, forms the innermost concentric island in the above scheme of Puranic dvipas or continents. Its name is said to derive from Jambu tree (another name for the Rose Apple, a kind of black plum). The fruits of the Jambu tree are said to be as large as elephants and when they become rotten and fall upon the crest of the mountains, a river of juice is formed from their expressed juice. The river so formed is called Jambunadi (Jambu river) which flows through Jambudvipa, whose inhabitants drink its waters. Insular continent Jambudvipa is said to comprise nine varsas or zones and eight mountains.

In Hinduism, the Markandeya Purana portrays Jambudvipa as being depressed on its south and north and elevated and broad in the middle. The elevated region forms the varsa named Illa-vrta (or Meruvarsa). At the center of Illa-Vrta lies the golden Mount Meru, the king of mountains and the support of the planet earth. On the summit of Mount Meru is the vast city of Lord Brahma, known as Brahmapuri. Surrounding Brahmapuri are the cities of Lord Indra and of seven other devatas or demigods.

The varsas of Ramyaka (or Ramanaka), Hiranmaya (or Hiranyaka) and Uttarakuru (or Shringashaka) are said to lie on the north, those of Hari, Kimpurusha and Bharata on the south and of Ketumal and Bhadrasva on the west and east sides of Mount Meru respectively.

The mountains named Nishada, Hemakuta and Himavar lie on the south, mountains Nila, Sveta and Sringavan on the north, those of Malayavat and Gandhamadana on the west and east direction of Mount Meru respectively.

The geographical description of the Jambudvipa is given in great detail in Bhishmaparva of the Mahabharata and several other Puranas.

The Markandeya Purana and the Brahmanda Purana divide Jambudvipa into four vast regions shaped like four petals of a lotus with Mount Meru being located at the center like a pericarp. The city of Brahmapuri of the Puranic accounts is said to be enclosed by the river Ganga, known as Akash Ganga. River Ganga is said to issue forth from the foot of Lord Vishnu and after washing the lunar region falls "through the skies" and after encircling the Brahmapuri "splits up into four mighty streams", which are said to flow in four opposite directions from the landscape of Mount Meru and irrigate the vast lands of Puranic Jambudvipa. River Sita irrigates the Bhadrasva varsa, river Jambunadi streams through the Ketumala varsa, river Alakananda flows through the Bharata varsa and river Bhadra washes the lands of the Uttara-Kuru varsa (See: Geographical Data in Early Purana, 1972, p5)

[edit] Real-world identification

It is not possible to satisfactorily identify all zones (varsas) of Jambudvipa. The Vayu Purana furnishes some details of the mountain ranges, valleys and river systems of the geographical region of Jambudvipa making it possible to identify some of their geographical features.

Mount Meru (or Smeru) is identified with the vast Nagard Sarovar in the center of the modern Pamirs.

The Padama Purana identifies the river Jambunadi with the river Chaksu i.e the Oxus (Padama Purana, 6.66-69).

The river Alakananda or Akash Ganga is the Ganga river

The river Bhadra corresponds to the Jaxartes or Syr river

The river Sita (Sito of Hiuen Tsiang) corresponds to the Yarkand River

Bhadra varsa probably corresponds to major part of Sinkiang province of China and the region lying to its east.

Uttara-Kuru varsa is the region to the north of Pamirs upwards. It probably includes north-western parts of Sinkiang province of China, the Tien Shan region and most parts of Kirgizstan.

Ketumala varsa is said to be the region spanned by the river Oxus, and therefore may correspond to western Turkmenistan, north-west Afghanistan (ancient Bactria) and north-east Iran.

Hari varsa is probably represented by western Tibet.

Bharata varsa undoubtedly stands for India proper.

Illa-Vrta varsa (Meruvarsa) is the mountainous region around the central point of Meru. It probably includes the Pamirs, Badakshan, parts of Kashmir, North-West Frontier region and north-east Afghanistan etc.

Other varsas of Jambudvipa are unidentifiable.

As regards the Dvipas or insular continents,

The Sakadvipa of Puranic Cosmography (the vast Scythe region) probably comprises north Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and some regions to north and west of the Caspian Sea.

The author of Vayu Purana uses the name Kumuda-dvipa for Kusha-dvipa (Vayu I.48.34-36). Kumuda is also a Puranic name of a mountain forming the northern buttress of Mount Meru (i.e. Pamirs). In anterior Epic Age, Kumuda was the name given to high table-land of the Tartary located to north of the Himalaya range from which the Aryan race may have originally pushed their way southwards into Indian peninsula and preserved the name in their traditions as a relic of old mountain worship (Thomson). Thus, the Kumuda-dvipa lay close to the Pamirs. Some scholars connect this Kumuda (the Komdei of Ptolemy, probably Kamdesh from Kamboj-desh?) with ancient Iranian Kambojas (See: India and the World, p 71).

The river Kurumu (modern Kuram) on south of river Kubha (Kabol) is stated to be flowing through the Plaksa-dvipa of the Puranic accounts. Hence the Plaksa-dvipa may have been the region lying to west of the Indus River probably comprising territories of Iran, middle and southern Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan etc.

The Pushkaradvipa has been identified by some as probably the region lying between China and Mangala (perhaps China and Mongolia) on the evidence of medieval era Muslim scholar Al-Biruni.

The Puranic account of the dvipas is mixed up with mythology. Hence, some of the concentric continents can not be identified in the real world, since their identification, according to Matsya Purana, is super-human.

[edit] In Buddhism

The Buddhist cosmology divides the bhūmaṇḍala (circle of the earth) into three separate levels: Kāmadhātu (Desire realm), Rūpadhātu (Form realm), and Ārūpyadhātu (Formless realm). In the Kāmadhātu is located Mount Sumeru which is said to be surrounded by four island-continents. "The southernmost island is called Jambudvīpa". The other three continents of Buddhist accounts around Sumeru are not accessible to humans. Jambudvīpa is shaped like a triangle with a blunted point facing south. In its center is a gigantic Jambu tree (rose-apple) from which the continent takes its name, meaning "Jambu Island".

Jambudvīpa is the region where the humans live and is the only place where a being may become enlightened by being born as a human being. It is in Jambudvīpa that one may receive the gift of Dharma and come to understand the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path and ultimately realize the liberation from the cycle of life and death.

Another reference is from the Buddhist text Mahavamsa, where the emperor Ashoka's son Mahinda introduces himself to the Sri Lankan kind Devanampiyatissa as from Jambudvipa, referring to what is now the Indian mainland.