Hear, then, the ancient account of the world as spoken in the Purāṇas. The vast expanse of the earth is filled with a thousand divisions of continents, and among these, seven are prominent. Though it is impossible to describe the entire world in detail and order, I shall recount for you only these seven, together with the moon, the sun, and the planets, as human understanding allows. For truly, that which is beyond nature cannot be grasped by ordinary reasoning; what lies beyond the conceivable is the mark of the inconceivable. Now, listen as I describe the seven regions of Jambūdvīpa, their order, their extent, and their circular arrangement, with their measures given in yojanas. Jambūdvīpa itself stretches a hundred thousand yojanas in breadth, teeming with various peoples and adorned with many splendid cities. It is crowded with Siddhas and Cāraṇas, beautified by mountains covered in minerals, their peaks rising high with masses of rock. From these mountains flow rivers on all sides, their waters spreading forth with great banks. Six mighty mountain ranges form the regions of this land. To the east and west, vast oceans must be crossed. Among the mountains stand Himavat, mostly covered in snow, Hemakūṭa, and Hemavān. Encircling all is the great mountain Niṣadha, beautiful to behold. At the very center stands Meru, golden and lofty, said to embody the four castes and made entirely of gold, spreading twenty-four thousand yojanas in every direction. Meru’s shape is circular, yet it is set as a square, equal on all sides, adorned with many colors and endowed with the qualities of the Lord of Creatures. Meru was born from the binding of the navel of Brahmā, whose own birth is unmanifest. On its eastern side, Meru is white, signifying its Brāhmaṇa nature; to the south, it is yellow, marking its Vaiśya aspect. The western side is colored like the bhṛṅgi leaf, establishing its Śūdra quality by name, meaning, and function. On the northern side, its natural color is red, indicating its Kṣatriya nature. Thus are the colors of Meru described. This mountain is blue like beryl, white, yellow, golden, peacock-feather hued, and made of refined gold; it is horned in form. These are the kings among mountains, frequented by perfected beings and celestial wanderers, and the distance between each is said to be nine thousand yojanas. Surrounding Mahāmeru in the center is the region called Ilāvṛta, twenty-four thousand yojanas wide and equal on all sides. In the center of Ilāvṛta stands Mahāmeru itself, glowing like a smokeless fire, with half of its altar lying to the south and the other half to the north. Each of the seven regions here has its own mountain ranges; each range, to the north and south, is two thousand yojanas wide. The breadth of Jambūdvīpa is measured by their length, and the ranges Nīla, Niṣadha, and those beyond are lesser in extent. Śveta, Hemakūṭa, and Himavān with its peaks are also named, and Ṛṣabha is mentioned according to the measure of Jambūdvīpa. Hemakūṭa is one-twelfth less than the full extent; Himavān is one-twentieth less. The great Hemakūṭa mountain measures eighty-eight thousand yojanas, and Himavān, the mighty mountain, is eighty thousand yojanas from east to west. Because the island is circular, there are described both decreases and increases in these measures. As the regions and mountains differ, so too does the north. Among the mountains are settlements, and these are the seven regions. These seven are surrounded by mountains with steep and difficult terrain, mutually inaccessible due to the divisions of rivers. Within them dwell various beings of all kinds; and this snowy region is renowned as Bhārata. Beyond Hemakūṭa lies the region called Kimpuruṣa; from Hemakūṭa to Niṣadha is Harivarṣa. Beyond Harivarṣa, on Meru, is Ilāvṛta; beyond Ilāvṛta is the region Nīla, also known as Ramyaka and famed. Beyond Ramyaka is Śveta, called Hiraṇyaka; and beyond Hiraṇyaka is Śṛṅgaśākaṅkura, so it is named. Know, O divine sage, that in the north and south, arranged like a bow, there are four long regions, with Ilāvṛta in the middle. To the east of Niṣadha lies the southern half of the altar; beyond is Ilāvṛta, and to the west is the northern half. Between these, Meru stands, where Ilāvṛta is; to the south of Nīla and to the north of Niṣadha. To the north rises the great mountain Mālyavān, extending thirty-two thousand yojanas to the west, following the line of the ocean. Mālyavān itself stretches for one thousand yojanas from Nīla to Niṣadha; likewise, the mountain Gandhamādana is said to be thirty-two yojanas in breadth. In the center of these circular ranges stands Meru, the golden mountain, equal in color to the four castes, rising up with a four-sided form. Its sides are of various colors: at the eastern end it is white, to the south it is yellow, to the north it is dark like the wings of a bee, and to the west it is red—thus is it endowed with colors. Meru shines resplendent, divine, encircled by royal standards, glowing with the radiance of the rising sun, like a fire without smoke. It rises to a height of eighty-four thousand yojanas, descends sixteen thousand below, and spreads twenty-eight thousand in breadth. Its circumference is twice its breadth on all sides; this great and divine mountain is filled with celestial herbs. All around it are worlds adorned with gold; there, hosts of gods, gandharvas, asuras, and rakṣasas rejoice together on the king of mountains, along with groups of apsaras. Thus is Meru encircled by worlds, the abodes of beings, and at its various sides are situated these four regions.