Adhyaya 54 — Cosmography of Jambudvipa: Continents, Oceans, Varshas, and Mount Meru
लवणेक्षु-सुरा-सर्पिर्दधि-दुग्ध-जलाब्धिभिः ।
द्विगुणैर्द्विगुणैर्वृद्ध्या सर्वतः परिवेष्टिताः ॥
lavaṇekṣu-surā-sarpir-dadhi-dugdha-jalābdhibhiḥ | dviguṇair dviguṇair vṛddhyā sarvataḥ pariveṣṭitāḥ ||
They are encircled on all sides by oceans of salt, sugarcane-juice, liquor, clarified butter (ghee), curds, milk, and sweet water—each successive ocean increasing twofold over the previous.
{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
The cosmos is portrayed as abundant and multi-layered; the diversity of oceans suggests creation as plenitude rather than scarcity, inviting reverence and restraint in human consumption.
Falls under 'Sthāna' (the ordered arrangement of the world), a standard Purāṇic cosmological element.
The differing oceans may be read as successive sheaths of experience (from coarse taste like salt to refined sweetness like pure water), implying graded purification as one moves outward/inward.