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Uttaravarṣa-varṇana (Ramyaka-Hiraṇmaya-Uttarakuru-Candradvīpa-Sūryadvīpa-Rudrākara)
Ancient-Geography (Purāṇic Cosmography and Ethno-ecology)
Is chapter mein Rudra ji batate hain ki uttar ki dhartiyan kaisi hain. Ramyaka mein log bohot samajhdar hote hain, budhe nahi hote aur sharir ganda nahi hota. Wahan ek bada ped Rohita hai jiska phal khane se log lambi umar jeete hain. Hiranmaya mein Yaksh log rehte hain jo apna roop badal sakte hain aur lambi umar jeete hain. Uttarakuru mein ped se kapda aur gehne milte hain, ped se doodh aata hai aur zameen ratno ki hai. Chandradwip aur Suryadwip ke baare mein bhi pahado aur nadiyon ka zikr hai. Rudrakar mein Vayu dev ek ratno ki seat par baithe hain.
Verse 1
रुद्र उवाच । उत्तराणां च वर्षाणां दक्षिणानां च सर्वशः । आचक्षते यथान्यायं ये च पर्वतवासिनः । तच्छृणुध्वं मया विप्राः कीर्त्यमानं समाहिताः ॥ ८४.१ ॥
Rudra ne kaha, main tumhe uttar aur dakshin ke ilaakon ke baare mein batata hoon. Yeh wohi tarika hai jo pahad par rehne wale log batate hain. Pandit log, dhyaan se suno jo main keh raha hoon.
Verse 2
दक्षिणेन तु श्वेतस्य नीलस्य चोत्तरेण च । वायव्यां रम्यकं नाम जायन्ते तत्र मानवाः । मतिप्रधानाः विमला जरादौर्गन्ध्यवर्जिताः ॥ ८४.२ ॥
Shwet pahad ke dakshin mein aur Neel pahad ke uttar mein, us hisse mein Ramyak naam ka ilaaka hai. Wahan paida hone wale log bahut samajhdar hote hain. Unka dil saaf hota hai. Budha nahi hote aur unse buri badboo nahi aati.
Verse 3
तत्रापि सुमहान् वृक्षो न्यग्रोधो रोहितः स्मृतः । तत्फलाद् रसपानाद्धि दशवर्षसहस्रिणः । आयुषा सर्वमनुजा जायन्ते देवरूपिणः ॥ ८४.३ ॥
Wahan ek bahut bada bargad ka ped hai jise Rohit kehte hain. Uske phal ka ras peene se log dus hazaar saal tak jeete hain. Unka chehra bhagwan jaisa hota hai.
Verse 4
उत्तरेण च श्वेतस्य त्रिशृङ्गस्य च दक्षिणे । वर्षं हिरण्मयं नाम तत्र हैरण्वती नदी । यक्षाः वसन्ति तत्रैव बलिनः कामरूपिणः ॥ ८४.४ ॥
Shwet pahad ke uttar aur Trishring pahad ke dakshin mein Hiranyamay naam ka ilaaka hai. Wahan Hiranvati nadi bahati hai. Wahan Yaksh rehte hain jo bahut taakatwar hain aur jaise chahein waisa roop le sakte hain.
Verse 5
एकादशहस्त्राणि समानां तेन जीवते । शतान्यन्यानि जीवन्ते वर्षाणां दश पञ्च च ॥ ८४.५ ॥
Wahan log gyarah hazaar saal tak jeete hain. Kuch log isse pandrah saal aur zyada tak jeete hain.
Verse 6
लकुचाः क्षुद्रसा वृक्षास्तस्मिन् देशे व्यवस्थिताः । तत्फलप्राशमानाः हि तेन जीवन्ति मानवाः ॥ ८४.६ ॥
Us ilaake mein lakuca ke ped hain. Inme ras bahut kam hota hai. Yeh ped wahan jam ke khade hain. Log inke phal khate hain aur isi se guzara karte hain.
Verse 7
Trishringa parvat ke teen shikhar hain, jo mani, sona aur har tarah ke ratnon se bane hain. Uske uttar shikhar se lekar dakshin samudra tak Uttarakurus rehte hain. Wahan pedhon par kapde aur gehne milte hain, jaise ped par lage ho. Wahan doodh dene wale ped hain aur doodh jaisi drink bhi milti hai. Zameen mani se bani hai aur ret sona hai. Wahan swarg se aaye hue log rehte hain, unki umr terah hazaar saal hoti hai. Us dwip ke paschim mein char hazaar yojan aane par Chandradvip aata hai, jo dev lok se aaya hai. Yeh gol hai, hazar yojan ka. Iske beech mein Chandrakant aur Suryakant naam ke pahad hain. Inke beech Chandravati nadi bahati hai, jisme bahut ped-phal hain aur bahut nadiyan aati hain. Yeh Kuruvasha hai. Iske uttar taraf paanch hazaar yojan samundar paar karne par Suryadvip aata hai, jo dev lok se hai. Iske beech ek bada pahad hai, sau yojan chauda aur itna hi uncha. Isse Suryavarta nadi nikalti hai. Wahan Surya sthit hai, wahan Surya jaisi chamak wale log rehte hain jo Surya ko maante hain, unki umr das hazaar saal hai. Us dwip ke paschim mein char hazaar yojan aane par Rudrakara naam ka dwip hai, das hazaar yojan ka. Wahan Vayu ki asan hai jo bahut ratnon se sajaa hai. Wahan Vayu rehte hain. Wahan sona jaisi chamak wale log rehte hain, unki umr paanch hazaar saal hai.
Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī instructional dialogue, Rudra is positioned as the reporting voice who enumerates the northern (and by framing contrast, southern) varṣas/dvīpas, using major mountains (Śveta, Nīla, Triśṛṅga) as spatial anchors.
A structured cosmographic catalogue unfolds: Ramyaka (Rohita-nyagrodha and fruit-essence sustenance; purity and agelessness), Hiraṇmaya (Hiraṇvatī river; powerful, form-changing Yakṣas; specified longevity), Uttarakuru (trees yielding garments/ornaments; milk-yielding trees; gem-soil and golden sands; svargacyuta inhabitants), then Candradvīpa and Sūryadvīpa (named mountains and rivers), culminating in Rudrākara (Vāyu enthroned on a jeweled Bhadrāsana), presenting abundance as an expression of cosmic order.
The descriptive peak is Rudrākara, where geography becomes theophany: Vāyu’s embodied presence on a jeweled seat signals that elemental governance (wind/air) and regulated lifespans are integral to the stability and prosperity of these regions; the survey resolves by implying a coherent, divinely-administered terrestrial ecology.
Śveta-parvata, Nīla-parvata, Triśṛṅga-parvata; Vāyavya (northwest quarter); Ramyaka-varṣa; nyagrodha (Rohita); Hiraṇmaya-varṣa; Hiraṇvatī-nadī; Uttarakuru; Candradvīpa; Candrakānta-giri; Sūryakānta-giri; Candrāvatī-nadī; Sūryadvīpa; Sūryāvarta-nadī; Rudrākara-dvīpa; Bhadrāsana of Vāyu; Southern Ocean terminus (dakṣiṇa-samudra-anta); maṇibhūmi (gem-bearing ground) and suvarṇa-bālukā (golden sands).
Rather than issuing explicit prescriptive rules, the text models an ecological-cosmographic pedagogy: well-ordered regions are depicted as sustained by abundant, non-extractive natural resources (fruit-essence, milk-yielding trees, spontaneous materials), and longevity is narrated as correlated with purity, restraint, and harmonious dwelling within a landscape.
No tithi, lunar phase, vrata timing, or seasonal ritual calendar is specified in the provided passage. Time is expressed primarily through quantified lifespans (e.g., ten thousand years, thirteen thousand years, five thousand years), functioning as cosmographic indexing rather than ritual scheduling.
Environmental balance is implied through landscapes that provide sustenance without intensive cultivation: humans live on nyagrodha fruit-essence, trees generate garments and ornaments, and terrains are described as inherently rich (maṇibhūmi, suvarṇa-bālukā). Such motifs align with a preservation-oriented imagination of Pṛthivī where abundance arises from stable cosmic order and non-destructive use of terrestrial gifts.
The passage references cosmic and semi-divine figures and groups rather than human dynastic lineages: Rudra as narrator; Yakṣas as inhabitants of Hiraṇmaya; Vāyu as an embodied presence in Rudrākara; and populations described as svargacyuta (fallen-from-heaven) in Uttarakuru. No royal genealogies or named human sages are specified in the excerpt.
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