[Y-Indology] Digest Number 836(holy geography)

[Guest guest]

malyavan_tibet <no_reply> wrote:

 

Well i hope people like kishore could contribute

 

In olden days, there was a king called priya vrata. He was dissastisfied that

only half the earth was illuminated at one time by the solar rays, followd the

sun seven times round the earth in his flaming car of equal velocity, like

another celestial orb, resolved to turn night into day. This shows that the

ancient Indians knew that earth is global in shape and is revolving around the

Sun. Later, Brahma has stopped him but the ruts made by his chariot turned into

oceans. In this way, the seven continents of the earth were made. ( Bhagavatam)

His ancestry is proved by the fact that his father in law is Kardama, who

existed prior to the beginning of solar race. He had ten sons and amongst seven

of them, priyavrata has given away the seven continents.

 

The Puranas envisage that there are seven continents on this earth. While some

versions say that Meru is the center of the Earth and these dvipas are

concentric , the actual position is that it is the center of the area called

Ilavarta , which is the central position of Jambudvipa, one of the continents.

 

The seven continents are :

 

1. Jambu

 

2. Plaksa or Gomedaka

 

3. Salmala

 

4. Kusa

 

5. Kraunca

 

6. Saka

 

7. Puskara

 

Mahabharata mentions four dvipas

 

1. Bhadrasva 2. Ketumala 3. Jambudvipa and 4. Uttara kuru

 

Out of the above, Nabhi , one of the sons of Priya vrta got Jambudvipa to his

share.

 

Jambudvipa has nine varshas or divisions :

 

1. Bharata

 

2. Kimpursa and kinnera

 

3. Hari varsha

 

4. Ilavarta

 

5. Ramyaka

 

6. Hiranmaya

 

7. Uttara kuru

 

8. Bhadrasva

 

9. Ketumala

 

Nabhi’s son is Rishabha, the founder of Jainism and is the first Tirthankara.

His son is Bharata , after whose name this division of Bharata got its name.

 

 

 

It contains 9 dvipas or portions : 1. Indra dvipa 2. Kasrumat 3. Tamravarna 4.

Gabhastimat 5. Nagadvipa 6. Saumya 7. Gandharva 8. Varuna 9. Kumaraka

 

There are also, two other important sections of land called Brhmavart and

Aryavart.

 

Brahma varta : " Between the two divine rivers, Sarasvati and Drsadvati, lies

the tract of land which the sages have named Brhamavarta because it is

frequented by Gods " ( to partake the sacrificial offers) Manu II.17

 

Arya varta " the tract between the Himalaya and the Vindhya ranges , from the

eastern to the western sea " _ Manu

 

How ever, Aryavart covers a bigger land structure than this in reality.

Afganistan, Iran, Iraq and Haryana of India all owe their name to Arya -each of

them literally meaning ‘ the land of Aryans’ .

 

 

 

The Hindu kingdoms of yore spread far and wide. It is well known that the Far

East was conquered by Indians, thus getting greatly influenced by Indian

culture. Sri Ram Saathe Claims that the ancient silk route boasts of several

Hindu kingdoms, some of them lying well into the present China.

 

 

kishore

..

 

India Matrimony: Find your partner online.

 

 

[Guest guest]

INDOLOGY, kishore shrishti

<kishore_future> wrote:

>

> malyavan_tibet <no_reply> wrote:

>

> Well i hope people like kishore could contribute

>

> In olden days, there was a king called priya vrata. He was

> dissastisfied that only half the earth was illuminated at

> one time by the solar rays, followd the sun seven times round

> the earth in his flaming car of equal velocity, like another

> celestial orb, resolved to turn night into day. This shows

> that the ancient Indians knew that earth is global in shape

> and is revolving around the Sun.

 

I would gather from "followed the sun ... round the earth"

just the opposite, that the writer believed that the sun

orbits the earth.

 

> How ever, Aryavart covers a bigger land structure than this

> in reality. Afganistan, Iran, Iraq and Haryana of India all

> owe their name to Arya -each of them literally meaning ` the

> land of Aryans' .

 

Your source is way off here. "Iran" alone means "(land) of

the Aryans". I can see how one might make the mistake with

"Iraq" and "Haryana", but how in the world does one find

"arya-" in the name of Afghanistan, "place of the Afghans"?

 

David