SB 5.16.6 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

यस्मिन्नव वर्षाणि नवयोजनसहस्रायामान्यष्टभिर्मर्यादागिरिभि: सुविभक्तानि भवन्ति ॥ ६ ॥

Verse text

yasmin nava varṣāṇi nava-yojana-sahasrāyāmāny aṣṭabhir maryādā-giribhiḥ suvibhaktāni bhavanti.

Synonyms

yasmin — in that Jambūdvīpa ; nava — nine ; varṣāṇi — divisions of land ; nava — yojana — sahasra — 72,000 miles in length ; āyāmāni — measuring ; aṣṭabhiḥ — by eight ; maryādā — indicating the boundaries ; giribhiḥ — by mountains ; suvibhaktāni — nicely divided from one another ; bhavanti — are .

Translation

In Jambūdvīpa there are nine divisions of land, each with a length of 9,000 yojanas [72,000 miles]. There are eight mountains that mark the boundaries of these divisions and separate them nicely.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In Jambūdvīpa there are nine divisions of land, each extending to a width of 9,000 yojanas, [Note: Ilāvṛta, Bhadrāśva and Ketumālā are exceptions.] completely separated by eight mountain ranges. Āyāmaṇ here means the length. The mountain ranges include the Himālayas. The form is described in the Vāyu Purāṇa: dhanurvat saṁsthite jṣeye dve varṣe dakṣiṇottare dīrghāṇi tatra catvāri caturasram ilāvṛtam Two varṣas on the north and south are bow-shaped. Four other varṣas are long and Ilāvṛta is square. The varṣa in the south is Bhārata and that in the north is Uttarakuru. The four long varṣas are Kuṁpuruṣa, Harivarṣa, Ramyaka and Hiranmayāni. Bhadrāśva and Ketumāla are also shaped like bows, bordered by Nīla and Niṣadha mountain ranges running horizontally and entering the sea. Their width is nine thousand yojanas except for Ketumāla and Bhadraśva in the middle. Ilāvṛta is nine thousand yojanas in all four directions from Meru (which has a 16,000 yojana base). Ilāvrta, Bhadrāśva and Ketumālā are thus 34,000 yojanas in width (16,000 + 9000, + 9000).

Purport

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura gives the following quotation from the Vāyu Purāṇa, wherein the locations of the various mountains, beginning with the Himālayas, are described. dhanurvat saṁsthite jṣeye dve varṣe dakṣiṇottare; dīrghāṇi tatra catvāri caturasram ilāvṛtam iti dakṣiṇottare bhāratottara-kuru-varṣe catvāri kiṁpuruṣa-harivarṣa-ramyaka-hiraṇmayāni varṣāṇi nīla-niṣadhayos tiraścinībhūya samudra-praviṣṭayoḥ saṁlagnatvam aṅgīkṛtya bhadrāśva-ketumālayor api dhanur-ākṛtitvam; atas tayor dairghyata eva madhye saṅkucitatvena nava-sahasrāyāmatvam; ilāvṛtasya tu meroḥ sakāśāt catur-dikṣu nava-sahasrāyāmatvaṁ saṁbhavet vastutas tv ilāvṛta-bhadrāśva-ketumālānāṁ catus-triṁśat-sahasrāyāmatvaṁ jṣeyam.