Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 10
Bhū-maṇḍala as a Lotus: Jambūdvīpa, Ilāvṛta, and the Meru System
Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, and Brahmapurī
तथैवेलावृतमपरेण पूर्वेण च माल्यवद्गन्धमादनावानीलनिषधायतौ द्विसहस्रं पप्रथतु: केतुमालभद्राश्वयो: सीमानं विदधाते ॥ १० ॥
tathaivelāvṛtam apareṇa pūrveṇa ca mālyavad-gandhamādanāv ānīla-niṣadhāyatau dvi-sahasraṁ paprathatuḥ ketumāla-bhadrāśvayoḥ sīmānaṁ vidadhāte.
তদ্রূপ ইলাবৃতের পশ্চিমে মাল্যবান এবং পূর্বে গন্ধমাদন—এই দুই পর্বত আছে। এরা দুই সহস্র যোজন উচ্চ এবং উত্তরে নীল ও দক্ষিণে নিষধ পর্যন্ত বিস্তৃত। এরা ইলাবৃতের এবং কেতুমাল ও ভদ্রাশ্ব নামক বর্ষদ্বয়ের সীমানা নির্ধারণ করে।
There are so many mountains, even on this planet earth. We do not think that the measurements of all of them have actually been calculated. While passing over the mountainous region from Mexico to Caracas, we actually saw so many mountains that we doubt whether their height, length and breadth have been properly measured. Therefore, as indicated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, we should not try to comprehend the greater mountainous areas of the universe merely by our calculations. Śukadeva Gosvāmī has already stated that such calculations would be very difficult even if one had a duration of life like that of Brahmā. We should simply be satisfied with the statements of authorities like Śukadeva Gosvāmī and appreciate how the entire cosmic manifestation has been made possible by the external energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The measurements given herein, such as 10,000 yojanas or 100,000 yojanas, should be considered correct because they have been given by Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Our experimental knowledge can neither verify nor disprove the statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We should simply hear these statements from the authorities. If we can appreciate the extensive energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that will benefit us.
FAQs
In Canto 5, Chapter 16, Śukadeva describes Ilāvṛta-varṣa as being enclosed by Mālyavān and Gandhamādana on the west and east, and by Nīla and Niṣadha on the south and north, defining nearby regions like Ketumāla and Bhadrāśva.
Parīkṣit Mahārāja inquires about the structure of the world, and Śukadeva answers by detailing Jambūdvīpa’s sacred geography to situate the listener within the Bhagavatam’s cosmological vision of the Lord’s creation.
It trains a devotee to see the universe as ordered and sacred, encouraging humility and remembrance that all regions and boundaries ultimately rest within the Supreme Lord’s arrangement.