In Indian mythology, dvīpa (Devnagari: वीप "peninsula, island"; also mahadvipa "great island") is the term for the major divisions of the terrestrial sphere, sometimes translated as "continents" or "planets". There are either 7, 4or 13 or 18 dvipas. The list of seven (sapta-dvipa) is (e.g. Mahabharata 6.604 = Bhagavad Gita 5.20.3-42):
- Jambu ("rose apple tree")
- Plaksha ("fig tree")
- Go-medaka (a gem)
- Shalmali (a river of the infernal region)
- Kusha ("grass")
- Kraunca ("of curlews")
- Shaka ("power", also "of the Saka")
- Pushkara ("lotus")
Seven intermediate oceans consist of salt-water, sugarcane juice, wine, ghee, curd, milk and water respectively.[1],[2]
The list of four is (e.g. Mahabharata 6.208)
- Bhadrashva
- Ketumalla
- Jambudvipa
- Uttara Kurava
The list of 13 adds nine to the four above: Indra-dvipa, Kaseru-mat, Tamra-varna, Gabhasti-mat, Naga-dvipa, Saumya, Gandharva, Varuna and Bharata (Vishnu Purana 2.3.6f.), between them forming Bharatavarsha.
They are situated round the Mount Meru, and separated from each other by distinct concentric circumambient oceans.The intermediate oceans consist of salt-water, sugarcane juice, wine, ghee, curd, milk and water respectively.[1],[2]
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