Jambudvipa

Jambudvīpa (Devnagari: जम्बुद्वीप) is the name of the dvipa ("island") of the terrestrial world, as envisioned in the cosmologies of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, which is the realm where ordinary human beings live. Although the description given below does not go with the Jainism description of Jambudvipa and its surroundings, the word Jambudvipa holds a very important place in Jain Cosmology, and has a different architecture.

Puranic description as per Hindu cosmology

According to Puranic cosmography, the entire Cosmos is divided into seven concentric island continents (sapta-dvipa vasumati) separated by the seven encircling oceans, each double the size of the preceding one (going out from within). The seven continents of the Puranas are stated as Jambudvipa, Plaksadvipa, Salmalidvipa, Kushadvipa, Krounchadvipa, Shakdvipa, and Pushkaradvipa. Seven intermediate oceans consist of salt-water, sugarcane juice, wine, ghee, curd, milk and water respectively.^[1],^[2]

Continent Jambudvipa (Indian Blackberry Island), also known as Sudarshanadvipa, forms the innermost concentric island in the above scheme. Its name is said to derive from a Jambu tree (another name for the Indian Blackberry, a kind of black plum). The fruits of the Jambu tree are said to be as large as elephants and when they become rotten and fall upon the crest of the mountains, a river of juice is formed from their expressed juice. The river so formed is called Jambunadi (Jambu river) and flows through Jambudvipa, whose inhabitants drink its waters. Insular continent Jambudvipa is said to comprise nine varsas (zones) and eight significant mountains.

Markandeya Purana portrays Jambudvipa as being depressed on its south and north and elevated and broad in the middle. The elevated region forms the varsa named Ila-vrta or Meruvarsa. At the center of Ila-vrta lies the golden Mount Meru, the king of mountains and the support of the planet earth^{[citation needed]}. On the summit of Mount Meru is the vast city of Lord Brahma, known as Brahmapuri. Surrounding Brahmapuri are the cities of Lord Indra and of seven other Devatas.

Markandeya Purana and Brahmanda Purana divide Jambudvipa into four vast regions shaped like four petals of a lotus with Mount Meru being located at the center like a pericarp. The city of Brahmapuri is said to be enclosed by a river, known as Akash Ganga. Akash Ganga is said to issue forth from the foot of Lord Vishnu and after washing the lunar region falls "through the skies" and after encircling the Brahmapuri "splits up into four mighty streams", which are said to flow in four opposite directions from the landscape of Mount Meru and irrigate the vast lands of Jambudvipa. River Sita irrigates the Bhadrasva varsa, river Jambunadi streams through the Ketumala varsa, river Alakananda flows through the Bharata varsa and river Bhadra washes the lands of the Uttara-Kuru varsa.^[3]

Real-world identification

So far any identification of any of the varsas of Jambudvipa has been completely unsatisfactory. There has been an attempt to plot the concentric continents on Solar System.^[4] Their identification is difficult since, according to Matsya Purana, they are of super-human nature.

The common names of the dviipa-s, having their vars.a-s (9 for Jambu-dviipa, 7 for the other dviipa-s) with a mountain and a river in each vars.a, is given in several Puraan.a-s [1]. There is a distinct set of names provides, however, in other Puraan.a-s [2]. The most detailed geography is that described in the Vaayu Puraan.a [3].

In Buddhism

The Buddhist cosmology divides the bhūmaṇḍala (circle of the earth) into three separate levels: Kāmadhātu (Desire realm), Rūpadhātu (Form realm), and Ārūpyadhātu (Formless realm). In the Kāmadhātu is located Mount Sumeru which is said to be surrounded by four island-continents. "The southernmost island is called Jambudvīpa". The other three continents of Buddhist accounts around Sumeru are not accessible to humans from Jambudvīpa. Jambudvīpa is shaped like a triangle with a blunted point facing south. In its center is a gigantic Jambu tree (rose-apple) from which the continent takes its name, meaning "Jambu Island".

Jambudvīpa is the region where the humans live and is the only place where a being may become enlightened by being born as a human being. It is in Jambudvīpa that one may receive the gift of Dharma and come to understand the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path and ultimately realize the liberation from the cycle of life and death. Another reference is from the Buddhist text Mahavamsa, where the emperor Ashoka's son Mahinda introduces himself to the Sri Lankan king Devanampiyatissa as from Jambudvipa, referring to what is now the Indian mainland.

In Jainism

According to Jain cosmology, Jambūdvīpa (The island of the rose apple tree) is at the centre of Madhyaloka, or the middle part of the universe, where the humans reside. Jambūdvīpaprajñapti or the treatise on the island of Roseapple tree contains a description of Jambūdvīpa and life biographies of Ṛṣabha and King Bharata. Trilokasāra (Essence of the three worlds), Trilokaprajñapti (Treatise on the three worlds), Trilokadipikā (Illumination of the three worlds) and Kṣetrasamasa (Summary of Jain geography) are the other texts that provide the details of Jambūdvīpa and Jain cosmology. Madhyaloka consists of many continent-islands surrounded by oceans, first eight whose names are :-

Continent/ Island	Ocean
Jambūdvīpa	Lavanoda (Salt - ocean)
Ghatki Khand	Kaloda (Black sea)
Puskarvardvīpa	Puskaroda (Lotus Ocean)
Varunvardvīpa	Varunoda (Varun Ocean)
Kshirvardvīpa	Kshiroda (Ocean of milk)
Ghrutvardvīpa	Ghrutoda (Butter milk ocean)
Ikshuvardvīpa	Iksuvaroda (Sugar Ocean)
Nandishwardvīpa	Nandishwaroda

Mount Meru is at the centre of the world surrounded by Jambūdvīpa, in form of a circle forming a diameter of 100,000 yojans ^[5].

Jambūdvīpa continent has 6 mighty mountains, dividing the continent into 7 zones (Ksetra). The names of these zones are:

1. Bharat Kshetra
2. Mahavideh Kshetra
3. Airavat Kshetra
4. Ramyak
5. Hairanyvat Kshetra
6. Haimava Kshetra
7. Hari Kshetra

The three zones i.e. Bharat Kshetra, Mahavideh Kshetra and Airavat Kshetra are also known as Karma bhoomi because practice of austerities and liberation is possible and the Tirthankaras preach the Jain doctrine. The other four zones, Ramyak, Hairanyvat Kshetra, Haimava Kshetra and Hari Kshetra are known as akarmabhoomi or bhogbhumi as humans live a sinless life of pleasure and no religion or liberation is possible.

Notes

External links

• Vedic universe structure
• The Jambudvipa of Buddhist texts