SB 5.21.7 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

एवं नव कोटय एकपञ्चाशल्लक्षाणि योजनानां मानसोत्तरगिरिपरिवर्तनस्योपदिशन्ति तस्मिन्नैन्द्रीं पुरीं पूर्वस्मान्मेरोर्देवधानीं नाम दक्षिणतो याम्यां संयमनीं नाम पश्चाद्वारुणीं निम्‍लोचनीं नाम उत्तरत: सौम्यां विभावरीं नाम तासूदयमध्याह्नास्तमयनिशीथानीति भूतानां प्रवृत्तिनिवृत्तिनिमित्तानि समयविशेषेण मेरोश्चतुर्दिशम् ॥ ७ ॥

Verse text

evaṁ nava koṭaya eka-paṣcāśal-lakṣāṇi yojanānāṁ mānasottara-giri-parivartanasyopadiśanti tasminn aindrīṁ purīṁ pūrvasmān meror devadhānīṁ nāma dakṣiṇato yāmyāṁ saṁyamanīṁ nāma paścād vāruṇīṁ nimlocanīṁ nāma uttarataḥ saumyāṁ vibhāvarīṁ nāma tāsūdaya-madhyāhnāstamaya-niśīthānīti bhūtānāṁ pravṛtti-nivṛtti-nimittāni samaya-viśeṣeṇa meroś catur-diśam.

Synonyms

evam — thus ; nava — nine ; koṭayaḥ — ten millions ; eka — paṣcāśat — fifty-one ; lakṣāṇi — hundred thousands ; yojanānām — of the yojanas ; mānasottara — giri — of the mountain known as Mānasottara ; parivartanasya — of the circumambulation ; upadiśanti — they (learned scholars) teach ; tasmin — on that (Mānasottara Mountain) ; aindrīm — of King Indra ; purīm — the city ; pūrvasmāt — on the eastern side ; meroḥ — of Sumeru Mountain ; devadhānīm — Devadhānī ; nāma — of the name ; dakṣiṇataḥ — on the southern side ; yāmyām — of Yamarāja ; saṁyamanīm — Saṁyamanī ; nāma — named ; paścāt — on the western side ; vāruṇīm — of Varuṇa ; nimlocanīm — Nimlocanī ; nāma — named ; uttarataḥ — on the northern side ; saumyām — of the moon ; vibhāvarīm — Vibhāvarī ; nāma — named ; tāsu — in all of them ; udaya — rising ; madhyāhna — midday ; astamaya — sunset ; niśīthāni — midnight ; iti — thus ; bhūtānām — of the living entities ; pravṛtti — of activity ; nivṛtti — and cessation of activity ; nimittāni — the causes ; samaya — viśeṣeṇa — by the particular times ; meroḥ — of Sumeru Mountain ; catuḥ — diśam — the four sides .

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued; My dear King, as stated before, the learned say that the sun travels over all sides of Mānasottara Mountain in a circle whose length is 95,100,000 yojanas [760,800,000 miles]. On Mānasottara Mountain, due east of Mount Sumeru, is a place known as Devadhānī, possessed by King Indra. Similarly, in the south is a place known as Saṁyamanī, possessed by Yamarāja, in the west is a place known as Nimlocanī, possessed by Varuṇa, and in the north is a place named Vibhāvarī, possessed by the moon-god. Sunrise, midday, sunset and midnight occur in all those places according to specific times, thus engaging all living entities in their various occupational duties and also making them cease such duties.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The wise teach about the city called Devadhānī, east of Mount Sumeru, possessed by King Indra; a place known as Saṁyamanī, possessed by Yamarāja, to the south of Meru; a place known as Nimlocanī, possessed by Varuṇa, to the west of Meru; and a place named Vibhāvarī, possessed by the moon-go to the north of Meru—which are on the path of the suns revolution on Mānasottara Mount whose circumference is 95,100,000 yojanas. They teach about the sunrise, noon and sunset and midnight in these cities for the purpose of engaging and disengaging people in work according to particular times. They teach about the four directions of Meru. The circular path is 95,100,000 yojanas The distance from Meru to Mānasottara in both directions (diameter of Mānasottara) 31,500,000 yojanas. [Note: The distance from Meru to the middle of Mānasottara was calculated to be 15,750,000 yojanas in the commentary on SB 5.20.35. ] The path of the sun’s chariot is 200,000 yojanas wide. Thus the total is 31,700,000 yojanas. Multiplying by three [Note: This is an approximation of pi =3.1416. Circumference = pi x diameter.] one gets 95,100,000 as the circumference. Experts teach about the city of Indra, east of Meru, on the circumference of Mānasottara Mountain measuring 95,100,000 yojanas in circumference. They teach about the sunrise, noon and sunset in these cities, being in the four directions from Meru. This means the following. Those who reside to the south of Meru (perceive sunrise, and consequently other directions) starting from the east (or eastern city of Indra), those residing in the west perceive sunrise (and the eastern direction) starting from the south, those in the north perceive sunrise starting from the west, and those residing to the east of Meru perceive sunrise starting from the north. It is stated in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa that sarveṣāṁ dvīpavarṣāṇāṁ meruruttarataḥ sthitaḥ: all the inhabitants have Meru in the north (relatively speaking). [Note: This statement will make some people infer that Meru is the North Pole.]