दश तीर्थसहस्राणि तिस्रः कोट्यस्तथापगाः माघमासे गमिष्यन्ति गङ्गायां भरतर्षभ
Ten thousand holy places and thirty million sacred rivers go to the Ganga in the month of Magha, O bull among the Bharatas.
स्वस्थो भव महाराज भुङ्क्ष्व राज्यमकण्टकम् पुनर्द्रक्ष्यसि राजेन्द्र यजमानो विशेषतः
Be at ease, O great king, and enjoy your kingdom without hindrance; you will see again, O king of kings, the sacrificer in particular.
इत्युक्त्वा स महाभागो मार्कण्डेयो महातपाः युधिष्ठिरस्य नृपतेस् तत्रैवान्तरधीयत
Having spoken thus, the illustrious and great ascetic Markandeya vanished there before King Yudhishthira.
ततस्तत्र समाप्लाव्य गात्राणि सगणो नृपः यथोक्तेनाथ विधिना परां निर्वृतिमागमत्
Then, together with his companions, the king bathed his limbs there, and, following the prescribed rite, attained supreme contentment.
तथा त्वमपि देवर्षे प्रयागाभिमुखो भव अभिषेकं तु कृत्वाद्य कृतकृत्यो भविष्यसि
So you too, O divine sage, set out for Prayaga; after performing the ablution today, you will have accomplished your purpose.
एवमुक्त्वाथ नन्दीशस् तत्रैवान्तरधीयत नारदो ऽपि जगामाशु प्रयागाभिमुखस्तथा
Having spoken thus, Nandisha vanished there; and Narada too quickly set out towards Prayaga.
तत्र स्नात्वा च जप्त्वा च विधिदृष्टेन कर्मणा दानं दत्त्वा द्विजाग्र्येभ्यो गतः स्वभवनं तदा
There, having bathed and recited mantras, performing the prescribed rites, and giving gifts to the foremost twice-born, he then returned to his own house.
कति द्वीपाः समुद्रा वा पर्वता वा कति प्रभो कियन्ति चैव वर्षाणि तेषु नद्यश्च काः स्मृताः
O Lord, how many continents and oceans are there, and how many mountains? How many regions are there, and which rivers are remembered within them?
महाभूमिप्रमाणं च लोकालोकस्तथैव च पर्याप्तिं परिमाणं च गतिश्चन्द्रार्कयोस्तथा
What is the measure of the great earth, and likewise of Lokāloka? Tell also the extent, the dimensions, and the courses of the moon and the sun.
एतद्ब्रवीहि नः सर्वं विस्तरेण यथार्थवित् त्वदुक्तमेतत्सकलं श्रोतुमिच्छामहे वयम्
Tell us all this in detail, as you know the truth; we wish to hear everything you say.
द्वीपभेदसहस्राणि सप्त चान्तर्गतानि च न शक्यन्ते क्रमेणेह वक्तुं वै सकलं जगत्
There are a thousand divisions of continents, and seven within them; it is not possible to describe the entire world here in order.
सप्तैव तु प्रवक्ष्यामि चन्द्रादित्यग्रहैः सह तेषां मनुष्यतर्केण प्रमाणानि प्रचक्षते
But I will describe only the seven, along with the moon, sun, and planets; their measures are declared according to human reasoning.
अचिन्त्याः खलु ये भावास् तांस्तु तर्केण साधयेत् प्रकृतिभ्यः परं यच्च तदचिन्त्यस्य लक्षणम्
Indeed, those things which are inconceivable cannot be established by reasoning; what is beyond nature is the mark of the inconceivable.
सप्त वर्षाणि वक्ष्यामि जम्बूद्वीपं यथाविधम् विस्तरं मण्डलं यच्च योजनैस्तान्निबोधत
I will describe the seven regions of Jambūdvīpa in their proper order, its extent, and its circle; listen to their measures in yojanas.
योजनानां सहस्राणि शतं द्वीपस्य विस्तरः नानाजनपदाकीर्णं पुरैश्च विविधैः शुभैः
The breadth of the continent is one hundred thousand yojanas, filled with various peoples and adorned with many splendid cities.
सिद्धचारणसंकीर्णं पर्वतैरुपशोभितम् सर्वधातुपिनद्धैस्तैः शिलाजालसमुद्गतैः
It is crowded with Siddhas and Cāraṇas, beautified by mountains, all covered with minerals and rising with masses of rocks.
पर्वतप्रभवाभिश्च नदीभिस्तु समन्ततः प्रागायता महापार्श्वाः षडिमे वर्षपर्वताः
All around are rivers originating from the mountains, flowing forth, with great banks; these six are the mountain ranges of the regions.
अवगाह्य ह्युभयतः समुद्रौ पूर्वपश्चिमौ हिमप्रायश्च हिमवान् हेमकूटश्च हेमवान्
On both sides, the eastern and western oceans are to be crossed; Himavat, mostly snowy, Hemakūṭa, and Hemavān are there.
सर्वतः सुमुखश्चापि निषधः पर्वतो महान् चातुर्वर्ण्यस्तु सौवर्णो मेरुश्चोल्बमयः स्मृतः चतुर्विंशत्सहस्राणि विस्तीर्णः स चतुर्दिशम्
All around is the great mountain Niṣadha, with a beautiful face; Meru, golden and lofty, is said to be four-caste and made of gold, spreading twenty-four thousand yojanas in all directions.
वृत्ताकृतिप्रमाणश्च चतुरस्रः समाहितः नानावर्णैः समः पार्श्वैः प्रजापतिगुणान्वितः
Its shape is circular, but it is set as a square, equal on all sides, adorned with various colors and endowed with the qualities of the Lord of Creatures.
नाभीबन्धनसम्भूतो ब्रह्मणो ऽव्यक्तजन्मनः पूर्वतः श्वेतवर्णस्तु ब्राह्मण्यं तस्य तेन वै
Born from the binding of the navel of Brahmā, whose birth is unmanifest; to the east it is white, and thus its Brāhmaṇa nature is established.
पीतश्च दक्षिणेनासौ तेन वैश्यत्वमिष्येत भृङ्गिपत्त्रीनभश् चैव पश्चिमेन समन्वितः तेनास्य शूद्रता सिद्धा मेरोर् नामार्थकर्मतः
To the south it is yellow, and thus its Vaiśya nature is accepted; to the west, it is marked by the color of the bhṛṅgi leaf, and thus its Śūdra nature is established by name, meaning, and function.
पार्श्वमुत्तरतस्तस्य रक्तवर्णं स्वभावतः तेनास्य क्षत्रभावः स्याद् इति वर्णाः प्रकीर्तिताः
On its northern side, its natural color is red, and thus its Kṣatriya nature is established; thus the colors are described.
नीलश्च वैडूर्यमयः श्वेतः पीतो हिरण्मयः मयूरबर्हवर्णश्च शातकौम्भः स शृङ्गवान्
It is blue, made of beryl, white, yellow, golden, peacock-feather colored, and made of refined gold, and it is horned.
एते पर्वतराजानः सिद्धचारणसेविताः तेषामन्तरविष्कम्भो नवसाहस्रमुच्यते
These are the kings among mountains, frequented by perfected beings and celestial wanderers; the distance between them is said to be nine thousand.
मध्ये त्विलावृतं नाम महामेरोः समन्ततः चतुर्विंशत्सहस्राणि विस्तीर्णो योजनैः समः
In the middle, all around Mahāmeru, is a region called Ilāvṛta, which is twenty-four thousand yojanas wide, equal on all sides.
मध्ये तस्य महामेरुर् विधूम इव पावकः वेद्यर्धं दक्षिणं मेरोर् उत्तरार्धं तथोत्तरम्
In the center of that region stands Mahāmeru, like a smokeless fire; half of its altar lies to the south, and the other half to the north.
वर्षाणि यानि सप्तात्र तेषां वै वर्षपर्वताः द्वे द्वे सहस्रे विस्तीर्णा योजनैर्दक्षिणोत्तरम्
The seven regions here each have their own mountain ranges; each range, to the north and south, is two thousand yojanas wide.
जम्बूद्वीपस्य विस्तारस् तेषामायाम उच्यते नीलश्च निषधश्चैव तेषां हीनाश्च ये परे
The breadth of Jambūdvīpa is described by their length; Nīla and Niṣadha, and those others beyond, are lesser in extent.
श्वेतश्च हेमकूटश्च हिमवाञ्छृङ्गवांश्च यः जम्बूद्वीपप्रमाणेण ऋषभः परिकीर्त्यते
Śveta, Hemakūṭa, and Himavān with its peaks are also named; Ṛṣabha is mentioned according to the measure of Jambūdvīpa.