Vamana Purana — Structure of Jambudvipa, Shloka 11
The Structure of Jambudvipa: Nine Varshas, Navadvipa Bharata, Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples
पूर्वे किराता यस्यान्ते पश्चिमे यवनाः स्थिताः आन्ध्रा दक्षिमते वीर तुरुष्कास्त्वपि चोत्तरे
pūrve kirātā yasyānte paścime yavanāḥ sthitāḥ āndhrā dakṣimate vīra turuṣkāstvapi cottare
At its eastern end are the Kirātas; at its western end dwell the Yavanas. To the south are the Āndhras, O hero, and to the north also are the Turuṣkas.
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FAQs
The verse reflects a Purāṇic habit of situating communities in a shared world-map; it can be read as acknowledging plural human habitats around a central realm, reminding the listener that dharma operates amid diversity and frontiers.
Again aligns with Sthāna/cosmography (and its ethnographic adjuncts), not with creation cycles (sarga/pratisarga) or dynastic narration (vamśa).
Directional peoples serve as ‘edge markers’ of the known world. Such lists also preserve historical memory of contacts (trade, conflict, diplomacy) by encoding them into cosmographic description.