In certain realms, cities stand with entrances blocked, while elsewhere, grand cities are enclosed within their own boundaries. Some towns are conjured by illusion, shimmering with unreality, and in other places, new settlements are yet to arise, waiting for their time. There are lakes where the moon wanders, casting her silvery glow, and lakes whose waters remain utterly still. In some places, gatherings of accomplished beings convene, and in others, the moon has just ascended, bathing the land in gentle light. The brilliance of sunrise fills some regions, while night’s darkness envelops others. Twilight paints the sky with its subtle hues in certain places, and elsewhere, mist renders the heavens grey and obscure. In some domains, the sky gleams white with celestial palaces, while clouds pour down rain in others. Sometimes, the sky appears as solid ground, a resting place for the worlds themselves. Hosts of gods and demons move swiftly, ascending and descending through these realms; in other places, they travel in all directions—east, west, north, and south—busy with their cosmic journeys. There are regions where hundreds of leagues are difficult to traverse, shrouded in smoke; elsewhere, the sky is filled with indestructible, dense darkness. In some places, a vast, imperishable radiance shines, like the sun or fire; in others, cold prevails, as in the depths of the Himalayas or within the abodes of the moon and other luminaries. Great forests of wish-fulfilling trees dance atop lofty cities in some realms, while elsewhere, celestial cities fall from the sky, toppled by the defeat of demons. The descent of celestial vehicles leaves streaks of fire in some places; in others, the sky is agitated by the collision of hundreds of comets. Auspicious planets seize the sky in some regions, while darkness envelops it in others, and elsewhere, it shines with the radiance of day. Thunderous clouds roar fiercely in some places, while silent clouds drift in others. Sometimes, the wind scatters fragments of white clouds like clusters of flowers. There are regions utterly empty and spotless, serene and immediately peaceful—gentle, clear, like the heart of one who knows. Flocks of parrots and frogs create a throaty clamor in some places, and the sky-field is adorned with stars shining in emptiness. Elsewhere, the sky is filled with birds—peacocks with golden crests and others—serving as vehicles and resting places for the goddesses among the Vidyādharas. Peacock circles dance within the clouds in some places; elsewhere, the ground appears dark with fire-parrots, as if it were a meadow. Clouds serve as vehicles for the lord of the departed, the buffalo, in his majesty in certain regions; elsewhere, black clouds are consumed by horses, mistaking them for grass. Some places are filled with cities of the gods, others with cities of demons. Some cities are inaccessible to each other, while some are riddled with narrow lanes. There are regions shining with the terrifying dance of Bhairava, resembling a mountain of families; elsewhere, cities of Gandharvas are crowded with groups of celestial women. In some places, the ocean is dried up by thousands of trees toppled from trembling mountains; elsewhere, the waters are cooled by sky-lotuses conjured by illusion. The lord of mountains dances with wings, accompanied by Vinayaka in some places; elsewhere, mountains are hurled up by the force of roaring winds. The wind is cool and delightful in some regions, moistened by showers of moonbeams; elsewhere, waters, trees, and mountains are scorched by burning fire. There is utter silence in some places, not even the slightest wind stirring; elsewhere, sunrise appears like flames as tall as mountains. Thick, rain-laden clouds rumble deeply, intoxicating the monsoon in certain regions; elsewhere, paths are impassable due to the battles of gods and demons. Swans of the sky-lake are summoned by melodious calls in some places; elsewhere, the wind plunders the lotuses on the banks of the celestial river Mandakini. Because of the presence of embodied beings and rivers like the Ganges, there are hollows within, filled with fish, sharks, and crocodiles leaping about. Some places are like the depths of the underworld, the shadow cast by the earth from the sun, or the dark hollows of a crow; in some regions, the orbs of the moon and sun are swallowed up. Elsewhere, magical groves of flowers are stirred by the winds of heaven, and celestial women are startled by showers of falling flowers and snow. Passing through the hollows of fig trees, swarming with mosquitoes and insects, and filled with beings of the three worlds, that excellent lady, having traversed them and released the sky, again prepared to descend to earth. As the two women descended from the sky toward a mountain village, their awareness fixed in knowledge and mind, they beheld the earth below. There, they saw the lotus of the heart of a man, vast as the cosmic egg, with eight petals facing the directions, crowded with mountain-like filaments, and beautiful with the fullness of its own bliss. Within this heart-lotus, river-like filaments, stalks, and drops of dew appeared; bees wandered about at night, and swarms of beings, like mosquitoes, filled the place. It was crowded with groups of inner threads, covered with holes made by the gods, carried along by streams of water, and shining with the radiance of daylight. Moist with sap, with swans wandering in the sky, it served as a vessel for the contraction of night, with lotus-fibers as the lord of serpents sunk in the mire of the netherworld. At times, its expanse caused the ocean to tremble, shaking the quarters; below, it was a thorn to the endless demons and titans dwelling among the serpents. Its heart, the great seed, was enveloped by the tender creeper of demon-wounds, which is the source of seeds, delighting in union, and pervades the mountain-lord Earth. There, the vast region known as Jambudvīpa is famed, with its central pericarp, rivers as filaments, and cities and villages as stamens. Adorned by the seven beautiful seeds of lofty family-mountains, its sky is spanned by the great central seed, the towering Meru at its heart. It is a cluster of lakes, icy droplets, forests, and herds of wild creatures; within its own circle of rays dwell multitudes of people like clouds. That land, measured by hundreds of yojanas, is surrounded on all sides by seas, swarms of bees, and the four quarters lying in repose. Resting on the eight petals of the directions, with the hum of lotuses and bees, it is divided ninefold by its nine brother-kings.