Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 24
The Six Dvīpas Beyond Jambūdvīpa and the Cosmic Boundary of Lokāloka
एवं पुरस्तात्क्षीरोदात्परित उपवेशित: शाकद्वीपो द्वात्रिंशल्लक्षयोजनायाम: समानेन च दधिमण्डोदेन परीतो यस्मिन् शाको नाम महीरुह: स्वक्षेत्रव्यपदेशको यस्य ह महासुरभिगन्धस्तं द्वीपमनुवासयति ॥ २४ ॥
evaṁ purastāt kṣīrodāt parita upaveśitaḥ śākadvīpo dvātriṁśal-lakṣa-yojanāyāmaḥ samānena ca dadhi-maṇḍodena parīto yasmin śāko nāma mahīruhaḥ sva-kṣetra-vyapadeśako yasya ha mahā-surabhi-gandhas taṁ dvīpam anuvāsayati.
क्षीरोदस्य बहिः शाकद्वीपो नाम द्वात्रिंशल्लक्षयोजनायामः, समानेन दधिमण्डोदेन परीतः। तत्र शाको नाम महावृक्षः क्षेत्रव्यपदेशकः; तस्य महासुरभिगन्धो द्वीपं सर्वं वासयति।
FAQs
It states that Śākadvīpa lies beyond the Milk Ocean, spans thirty-two lakh yojanas, is surrounded by an equally broad ocean of buttermilk, and is named after a great śāka tree whose fragrance pervades the island.
Because a prominent śāka tree stands there, and the island is identified and named after that tree (svakṣetra-vyapadeśakaḥ).
The verse trains the mind to see creation as ordered and sacred, encouraging reverence for the Lord’s cosmic arrangement and reducing material small-mindedness through contemplative study (śravaṇa) of Bhāgavata descriptions.