Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
| Canto 5: The Creative Impetus | Chapter 16: A Description of Jambūdvīpa |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.16.8
uttarottarenelāvritam nīlah śvetah śrińgavān iti trayo ramyaka-hiranmaya-kurūnām varshānām maryādā-girayah prāg-āyatā ubhayatah kshārodāvadhayo dvi-sahasra-prithava ekaikaśah pūrvasmāt pūrvasmād uttara uttaro daśāmśādhikāmśena dairghya eva hrasanti
SYNONYMS
uttara-uttarena ilāvritam — further and further north of Ilāvrita-varsha; nīlah — Nīla; śvetah — Śveta; śrińgavān — Śrińgavān; iti — thus; trayah — three mountains; ramyaka — Ramyaka; hiranmaya — Hiranmaya; kurūnām — of the Kuru division; varshānām — of the varshas; maryādā-girayah — the mountains marking the borders; prāk-āyatāh — extended on the eastern side; ubhayatah — to the east and the west; kshāroda — the ocean of salt water; avadhayah — extending to; dvi-sahasra-prithavah — which are two thousand yojanas wide; eka-ekaśah — one after another; pūrvasmāt — than the former; pūrvasmāt — than the former; uttarah — further north; uttarah — further north; daśa-amśa-adhika-amśena — by one tenth of the former; dairghyah — in length; eva — indeed; hrasanti — become shorter.
TRANSLATION
Just north of Ilāvrita-varsha — and going further northward, one after another — are three mountains named Nīla, Śveta and Śrińgavān. These mark the borders of the three varshas named Ramyaka, Hiranmaya and Kuru and separate them from one another. The width of these mountains is 2,000 yojanas [16,000 miles]. Lengthwise, they extend east and west to the beaches of the ocean of salt water. Going from south to north, the length of each mountain is one tenth that of the previous mountain, but the height of them all is the same.
PURPORT
In this regard, Madhvācārya quotes the following verses from the Brahmānda Purāna:
tasyāvirodhato yojyam
mandode puranam caiva
mandalād dvi-gunoktitām
vinaiva sarvam unneyam
It appears from these verses that aside from the sun and moon, there is an invisible planet called Rāhu. The movements of Rāhu cause both solar and lunar eclipses. We suggest that the modern expeditions attempting to reach the moon are mistakenly going to Rāhu.
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness