Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 7
Bhū-maṇḍala as a Lotus: Jambūdvīpa, Ilāvṛta, and the Meru System
Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, and Brahmapurī
एषां मध्ये इलावृतं नामाभ्यन्तरवर्षं यस्य नाभ्यामवस्थित: सर्वत: सौवर्ण: कुलगिरिराजो मेरुर्द्वीपायामसमुन्नाह: कर्णिकाभूत: कुवलयकमलस्य मूर्धनि द्वात्रिंशत् सहस्रयोजनविततो मूले षोडशसहस्रं तावतान्तर्भूम्यां प्रविष्ट: ॥ ७ ॥
eṣāṁ madhye ilāvṛtaṁ nāmābhyantara-varṣaṁ yasya nābhyām avasthitaḥ sarvataḥ sauvarṇaḥ kula-giri-rājo merur dvīpāyāma-samunnāhaḥ karṇikā-bhūtaḥ kuvalaya-kamalasya mūrdhani dvā-triṁśat sahasra-yojana-vitato mūle ṣoḍaśa-sahasraṁ tāvat āntar-bhūmyāṁ praviṣṭaḥ.
En medio de todas ellas está el varṣa interior llamado Ilāvṛta; en su centro, como en el ombligo, se alza el monte Sumeru, rey de las montañas, enteramente de oro, cual el receptáculo del loto del Bhū-maṇḍala. Su anchura en la cumbre es de treinta y dos mil yojanas y en la base de dieciséis mil; y dieciséis mil yojanas están hundidas en la tierra.
FAQs
This verse describes Mount Meru as the golden king of mountains situated at the navel (center) of Ilāvṛta-varṣa, like the central whorl of the lotus-like Jambūdvīpa, with specific measurements for its summit, base, and depth into the earth.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī is narrating this cosmological description to Mahārāja Parīkṣit as part of the fifth canto’s account of Jambūdvīpa and its central mountain, Meru.
The Bhagavatam uses cosmic structure—center, lotus imagery, and the ‘navel’—to remind the reader that creation is ordered and purposeful; one can apply this by cultivating inner centeredness and orienting life around the Supreme, rather than around distraction.