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.
तस्माद्द्वादशभागेन हेमकूटो ऽपि हीयते हिमवान्विंशभागेन तस्मादेव प्रहीयते अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि हेमकूटो महागिरिः
Hemakūṭa is diminished by one-twelfth from that; Himavān is reduced by one-twentieth from the same; Hemakūṭa, the great mountain, measures eighty-eight thousand.
अशीतिर्हिमवाञ्छैल आयतः पूर्वपश्चिमे द्वीपस्य मण्डलीभावाद् ध्रासवृद्धी प्रकीर्तिते
Himavān, the mountain, is eighty thousand in length from east to west; due to the circular nature of the island, decrease and increase are described.
वर्षाणां पर्वतानां च यथाभेदं तथोत्तरम् तेषां मध्ये जनपदास् तानि वर्षाणि सप्त वै
As the regions and mountains differ, so does the north; among them are settlements, and these are the seven regions.
प्रपातविषमैस्तैस्तु पर्वतैरावृतानि तु सप्त तानि नदीभेदैर् अगम्यानि परस्परम्
These seven regions are surrounded by mountains with steep slopes and difficult terrain, and they are mutually inaccessible due to the divisions of rivers.
वसन्ति तेषु सत्त्वानि नानाजातीनि सर्वशः इमं हैमवतं वर्षं भारतं नाम विश्रुतम्
Various beings of all kinds dwell in them; this snowy region is renowned as Bhārata.
हेमकूटं परं तस्मान् नाम्ना किम्पुरुषं स्मृतम् हेमकूटाच्च निषधं हरिवर्षं तदुच्यते
Beyond Hemakūṭa is the region called Kimpuruṣa; from Hemakūṭa to Niṣadha is known as Harivarṣa.
हरिवर्षात्परं चापि मेरोस्तु तदिलावृतम् इलावृतात्परं नीलं रम्यकं नाम विश्रुतम्
Beyond Harivarṣa, on Meru, is Ilāvṛta; beyond Ilāvṛta is Nīla, called Ramyaka and renowned.
रम्यकादपरं श्वेतं विश्रुतं तद्धिरण्यकम् हिरण्यकात्परं चैव शृङ्गशाकंकुरं स्मृतम्
Beyond Ramyaka is Śveta, known as Hiraṇyaka; beyond Hiraṇyaka is Śṛṅgaśākaṅkura, so it is called.
धनुःसंस्थे तु विज्ञेये देवर्षे दक्षिणोत्तरे दीर्घाणि तस्य चत्वारि मध्यमं तदिलावृतम्
Know, O divine sage, that in the north and south, arranged like a bow, there are four long regions; the middle one is Ilāvṛta.
पूर्वतो निषधस्येदं वेद्यर्धं दक्षिणं स्मृतम् परं त्विलावृतं पश्चाद् वेद्यर्धं तु तदुत्तरम्
To the east of Niṣadha is the southern half of the altar; beyond is Ilāvṛta, and to the west is the northern half.