CHAPTER - I.

Buddhist Conception Of The World;

Cakravila Cosmos or Single World System, Multiple

World System,

Great Mountain — Meru or Maha Meru,

Pour Island Continents or Mahadvipas —

(1) Jambudvipa, (2) Purvavideha, (3) Aparagoyana, and

(4) Uttarakuru.
 CHAPTER — I.

Buddhist Conception of The World

The Buddhist texts and commentaries furnish us with

the Buddhist conception of the world and the system, of which
it forms a constituent. But in most cases the descriptions
seem to he very much fictitious. Sober geography happens' to
appear before us only when the known and familiar places or
countries are to be described. Thus the account of Jambudvlpa
or the Indian subcontinent is much more reliable from the
geographical point of view than that of extra-Indian continents
or countries.

The oldest Buddhist texts describe the universe as

consisting of a singLe circular world system which is termed
as Cakkavala by them. It is surrounded by a mountain of iron
which is known as Cakkavala and to which the world system owes
its name. These Buddhist authors while describing the Cakkaval
(= Sanskrit Cakravala)-cosmos, do not present any sort of
interpretation before us and are satisfied only by cataloguing
some names and measurements.

The basic outlines of the single world system of the

"Cakravala-co3mology,, are more or less the same throughout
the Buddhist literature and form a prominent feature of the
1
Pali texts as well as the Buddhist Sanskrit ones. The

1. Randy KLoetzli, Buddhist Cosmology, p. 23.

Mahaprajnapiramitasastra and the Abhidharmakos'a, for instance,
are in almost complete agreement with the details of Pali canon
and commentaries in this regard. The single circular world
system, however, is a prominent feature of also the Hindu and
Jain cosmologies, though with many important differences in
3
detail. Randy Kloetzli in his "Buddhist Cosmology" brings out
beautifully the essential difference between the two in the
following lines: "Stated briefly, it appears that the Pali
Cakkavila.is intended as a more or less practical guide to the
Bhikkhu in his meditations, while the Sanskrit Cakravala is
part of a more self-consciously speculative system”.

The Cakkavala is represented as a disk surrounded by

seven circular golden mountain ranges. These mountain ranges
are arranged concentrically, with Mt. Meru at the centre and
the Cakkavala wall of iron at the perimeter. Proceeding out­
ward from the centre, the mountains are known as Meru,
Yugandhara, Isadhara, Khadirika, Sudassana, Assakenna,
Vinataka, Nimindhara and Cakkavala. Mt. Meru has a height
of 80,000 yojanas and each of the mountain ranges is one half
of the height of the preceding range. All of the mountains
except the Cakkavila ring which is made of iron, are excres­
cences of the golden earth. The excellent waters of the
various seas (Sita) fill the regions between the mountain ranges.

2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., p. 24«
 2o

The mountains penetrate these waters in an extent equal to their

height.4

The inhabited land masses are situated in the great

ocean (mahasamudra) which flows about the seventh mountain
range. The four land masses located at the points of compass
are spoken of as islands (dvipa, Pali dipa), and are known as
Purvavideha (Eastern Yideha) in the east, Jambudvipa in the
south, Aparagoyana or Ap aragodaniya (Western Pasturage) in
the west and Uttarakuru (Northern Kuru-land) in the north.
These four islands of the Cakkavala are distinguished from
each other in a number of wayBj particularly with regard to
the size, shape and duration of life of their inhabitants.
These four Great continents are lit up in succession at an
interval of six hours from each other by the sun turning round
Meru. All these are said to rest bn a layer of golden earth
(Kancanamayi bhumi) which: is definitely fictitious. The
importance of this conception, however, cannot be doubted.
The Puranas also speak of the lokaloka mountain which
surrounds the circular world and is composed of the golden
earth. No ring mountain is to be found in the Puranas
although a series of seven ring islands and seven seas
5
encircling them occur in.their places. It may be said that
the concentric islands and the seven surrounding seas of the
Puranas are juxtaposed to the circular mountain system of the
-’’"i

' >-
Buddhist cosmology.’"

Ibid. pp. 24-25.

%iWs We been
kloetzU’s BucUkist Cosmology P^5
 —i 21

The interest of the oldest Buddhist tradition in this

regard seems to have been limited to a single world system.
But we also find traces of themes associated with multiple
world systems in Pali canonical texts. A 10,000 world systSm
.6
is mentioned in the Jatakas, though with little elaboration.
It has been dealt with in a systematic way in Buddhaghosa's
Atthasalinl,~" commentary on the Dhammasanganl, which states,
that four things are infinite, viz., space, the number of
universe, the number of living beings and the wisdom of the
BuddhaJ

In the Ma^jhima Nikaya (Sarrkh*Tuppa-tti sutta) a

sahasso brahma governing a sahassl lokadhatu has been distin­

guished from a dvisahasso brahma, a trisahasso brahma, a
catussahasso brahma, pancasahasso brahma and a satasahasso
brahma. These gods rule over 1,000 up to (1,000 worlds.

9
In the Buddhist Sanskrit text Mahavastu we read that
the Buddhaksetra is the equivalent of sixtyone. triple chilio-
cosms, while an upaksetra is four times as large
Skasastim trisahasrani Buddhaksetram pariksitam
Ato caturgunam jneyam upaksetram tathividhsm.

6. Ibid. p. 4.
7 • (Xbicj4 ! fiith6.S5.I f ru p • 16 0
8. M. III. 101.
9. Mtu. Vol. I, p. 142.

y-.
 22

The Mahaprajnaparamitas^astra^ and the Avatamsakasu.tr a also

speak of this thousand world system.

For the most part, however, it is the trisahasra maha-

sahasra lokadhatu which emerges as the cosmological equivalent
of the buddhaksetra. A very well-known passage on this concept,
11
occurs m the Anguttara Nikaya.

Now, we may speak a few words about the great mountain

12
Mem or Maha Meru. According to some scholars Mt. Meru
appears to be an exaggeration of the Himalayan range. It has
been described as being at the summit and at the base 10,000
yojanas in diameter and in circumference 31,428 yojanas, 2
gows, 22 isubus, 18 yastis or stay.es and 1 cubit. Leaving out
the upper part at the distance of 42,000 yojanas from the
summit on a level with the rocks called Yugandhara, it is
30.000 yojanas in diameter and in circumference, 94,285
yojanas, 2 gows, 68 isubus, 11 yastis and 3 cubits, and in
the centre it is 50,000 yojanas in diameter and in circum­
ference 157,142 yojanas, 3 gows, 34 isubus, 5 yastis, and 5
cubits. From the base to the summit, its entire height is
168.000 yojanas, one half of this measurement, being under
the water of the great ocean, and the other half'jrising into

10. Randy Kloetzli, Buddhist Cosmology, pp. 51, 52.

11. A. I. 227, v. 59.
12. The contents of this paragraph have been taken from Hardy’s
A Manual of Buddhism, pp. 10-11, p. 10 f.n. and p. 12 f.n.t
 23

the air. Mount Meru was known to the Greeks by the name of
Meros. The Visnu Purina says that it is in the centre of
Jambudvipa, its height being 84,000 yojanas and its depth
below the surface of the eartji 16,000. Between this Maha
Meru and the circular wall of rock bounding the Great Barth,
called the Cakkavala are the seven famous ring mountains
Yugandhara etc. Between the different circles of rocks there
are seas the water of which gradually decreases in depth from
Mahi. Meru near which it is 84,000 yojanas deep, to the
Cakkavala near which it is only one inch deep. It is very
interesting to note that almost all ancient, nations believed
in the existence of a fathomless sea; .■ beneath and around the
earth. The Buddhists hold that the earth is supported by a
world of air which is more scientific than that of the Hindus
who believe that it is borne upon a tortoise.

Let us now come down to the more specific world system

of the four island continents. According to the Buddhist con­
ception in each Cakkavala, between the Cakkavala pabbata and
the outermost of the rocky circles which environ the Meru
mountain, lies a vast ocean and the four mahadvlpas (great
islands or continents) are situated in the said ocean,
13
equidistant from each other.

The word dvipa (= dlpa in Pali) literally means

13. Childers, A Dictionary of the Pali Language, p. 228.

 "double-watered". According to Dr. H.C. Raychaudhuri it originally-

meant nothing more than a ‘land between two sheets of water*

(usually river). 4 Thus dvipa is not identical with 'island’.

It includes peninsulas and sometimes doabs also. The

Buddhists with the epithet Maha prefixed to it, always used-
it to denote the four Great Continents though sometimes they
call these continents simply cattaro dlpa. It is very
curious that they seem to have paid no heed to the literal
meaning of the term dvipa (= dlpa), for even if we leave out
the three other continents over the uncertainty hanging on
their exact identification, the Jambudvipa, which is very
faithfully depicted by the Buddhist geographers, cannot be
described as a "dvipa” in the literal sense of the term, for
three sides of it are surrounded by the ocean. It is not a
dvipa even in the popular sense of the term, i.e. a piece of
land surrounded on all sides by water, for the northern side
of it is occupied by the Great Himalayan Range. Dr. H.C. Ray
Chaudhuri also says "the epithet sagara samvrtah applied to
Ku&arl Dvipa, hardly accords with reality". In a number of

14. Studies in Indian Antiquities, H.C. Raychaudhuri, p.,68j

S.N. Majumdar Sastrl points out that the word dvipa \has been
derived by Panini as dvi + ap (CAGI, App. I, p. 751) also
cf. Dviraptvat smrto dvlpah — Brahmanda Pu., 53. 140; and
. also Rhys Davids and Stede in Pali-English Dictionary —
Dipa^ p. 325.

15. Stud. Ind. Ant., p. 83.

 instances again, we find that the term dvlpa has been indis­
criminately used to denote only a division of land, and no more

SimhaLese writers frequently use the word dip a for the

/ — _
island of Simhala (Srilahka) as being to them the island par
excellence, e.g., dipavisi, "an inhabitant of Simhala", dipa-
g an an am Buddhassa, "the arrival of the Buddha at Srllanka" and
16
so.cn.

Whatever be the reason for coining the term dvlpa or

mahadvlpa for denoting the continents, the Buddhists stuck to
the simple pattern of these four Great Island Continents
throughout their scriptures. The Brahmanical writers on the
other hand fluctuated from one view to another regarding the
exact number and description of the continents. The
.Brahmanical conception of the world, contained mainly in the
• Puranas is not very clear. According to this concept the
world consists of seven conoentric islands the names of
which are given as Jambu, Plaksa, Salmali, Kusa, Kraunca,
/ 1*7
Saka and Puskara. These are surrounded respectively by the
seven seas of salt, sugar cane Jnice, wine, clarified butter,
curds, milk and water. In the Brahmanical tradition contained

16. Childers, A Dictionary of the Pali language, p. 125.

17. Agni Pu. 108. 1-3.
Matsya Pu., Chapters 122-123; Padma Pu. Svarga Khanda,
Chapter 4;
cf. also D.C. Sircar, Cosmography and Geography, p. 47.
 -i 26
v

in the Puranas the size of one continent is double the size'

of the former one. Thus the PIaksadvlpa is double the size
of Jambudvipa and so on. Similarly the rivers, mountains etc.
of the following continent are double in size compared to those
in the preceding one, and the size of the seas also is double
of the preceding ones in the list. Thus the Buddhist and the
Brabmanical conceptions in this matter are poles apart regard­
ing every detail, e.g. number of continents, their arrange­
ments, names and so on. The four Great Continents of the
Buddhists are situated on the four comers of the compass,
while the seven Puranic islands are arranged in a pattern of
concentric circles. This Puranic pattern rather reminds us
of the seven concentric circle of rocks and the seas between
the rocks AS found- in the Budcfkist literature.

The Brahmanioal texts often contain conflicting state,

ments regarding the island continents. Thus sometimes in the
same work, e.g. in the Vayu Purana the earth is described as
consisting of four island continents as well as of seven
such continents (^Vayu. Pu- %-jfcjl6-*’ — ,8-41,83,85 e>c.')

The Puranic four-continent theory evidently draws com­

parison with the Buddhist theory of Pour Great Islands. Accord
ing to the Puranic theory the earth consists of four great
dvipas resembling four petals of a lotus, the pericarp of
 which is. represented by the Meru or Sumeru mountain which the
Mahabharata locates beyond the Himalayas near the Central Asian
18
deserts. The four islands are situated on the east, south,
west and north of Mount Meru. This division on the basis of
quarters is also similar to the Buddhist conception. These
four islands are described as the four petals of the e.arth-
lotus. The continents are called Bhadrasva, Bharata, Ketumala,
and TJttarafcuru (orj^uru) respectively. The southern continent
is called Jambudvipa instead of Bharata in the Mahabharata^
,, - W
and some Puranas, e.g. Yayu 34. 5o,7isnu, ii. ,3J! etc. It is
very curious, because in the Buddhist literature we find that
the name of Jambudvipa has been without exception used as a
fixed nomenclature of the Indian subcontinent, while in the
Brahmanical literature, inmost places, the name Jambudvipa
has a wider connotation which includes within itself not only
India, but also a considerable portion of the continent of Asia.
The name of the northern continent i.e, Kuru or Uttarateuru is
also common to both the Buddhist and Puranic lists. But the
names of the eastern and western continents are different in
the two lists. Thus in some respects the four island theory
of the Puranas resemble the pour Great Island theory of the
Buddhists and we may suggest that these two theories probably
had a parallel development and the exponents of both were
familiar with the main features of each other. ' Though Dr. D.C#
l?. D*C. thrccvr, Co6-mogira.pHy ©rd GeogYa-pKy......P-40-
19. Markandeya Pu. 55. 2Qf.; Brahmtoia Pu. 35. 41, 60-61,
Ch. 44. 35-38, D C-Sircar op-cit- p. 4o -f-n-23
 28 • —

Sircar suggests that the Buddhists may have borrowed the four

continent theory from the Puranic writers this suggestion' must

be examined thoroughly before we accept it. It seems very

strange that the Buddhists borrowed the four continent theory

from the Purinas instead of the seven continent one which was

much more popular than the former. It is possible that the

Puranic four continent theory was perhaps older than the con­

ception of the seven continent earth as pointed out by Dr. D.C.

21
Sircar with good reasons. But at the same time it must be

borne in mind that while the Puranas give so many divergent

opinions about the number of the islands, the Buddhist texts

are very rigid on the number ’’four” and they never, in any

instance, have cited a number other than "four” regarding the

number of the Mahadlpas. This fact may lead us to assume that

both the Brahmanical and Buddhist theories of four continents

were perhaps independent developments. In fact it is quite

natural and reasonable to divide the earth according to the

four points of the compass, and this idea might have flashed,

quite separately, on the pioneers of both theories. 3o it is

difficult to discern which theory was earlier.

The mention of the four islands either in general or

with their specific nomenclature is very frequent in the

Buddhist literature. The Samyutta Nikaya speaks of four dipas

20. D.C. Sircar, Cosmography and Geography ...» p. 42.

21. Ibid., p. 38.

 -t 29

the possession of which is not so precious as that of the

22 23
four varieties. The Milindapanha speaks of the four Great
- 2.4
Island continents. ~ The Divyavadana gives the names of all
25
the four.--' Among other Buddhist Sanskrit texts the Mahavastu,
26 _ 27
the lalitavistara, and the Bodhisattvavadanakalpalata very
often refer to the four Mahadvlpas. The Burmese version of
the lalitavistara says: "His regards glanced over the four
great islands and the 2,000 small ones. He saw that the
island of Dzaboudiba, the southern one, had always been the
28
favourite place selected by all former Buddhas ..." The
lalitavistara refers to the scripts belonging to the different
29
continents. The same text also gives us the extents of
29 _
these four Great Islands. The Pali commentary S am an tap as a-
30
dika too points out the extents of these four continents
though with measurements varying considerably from the lalita­
vistara.

22. EEE Yol. IY. p. 132.

23. p. 285.
24. p. 131.

25. I. pp.56, 57, 134, 135, 138, 233? II. 95, 224.
26. pp.30, 19, 125-26.
27. 4. 48, 49, 71 etc.
28. lalitavistara, ed. R.l. Mitra, p. 51.
29. lalit., p. 149.
30. 1. 119.
 CD

f*t7 \ x
P\ X
CM
> ■ MEF.uJl >
Ch
<T
(o
X
Lys / . Qri
'v G*
y NO M

£]b u dvL2&

•qup Great Islands \n the Buddhist concept-.

ustration based on the diagram in D-C. Sircar’s Cosmography and Geograply(fl«.l«l)

 30 :-

Now we may proceed to give individual accounts of each

of these four Great Islands.- First we should take up Jambudipa
or Jamh.udvlpa because it has been delineated in the Buddhist
literature with the greatest amount of sobriety and authen-^
ticity.

Jambudvlpa according to the Buddhist conception is the

- 31
southernmost of the four Kahadvlpas. Brahmanical texts
describe it as the most centrally situated island of the world
comprising seven concentric islands separated from each other
32
by seven encircling seas.

The Brahmanda Purina tells us that Jambudvlpa is the

33
continent inhabited by human beings. The Brahmanical texts
also throw light on the shape of this island continent. It
is said to be shaped like a lotus with Meru as its pericarp
and the four var^as, viz., Bhadrasva, Bharata, Ketumila and
34 - ~
Uttarakuru as its four petals. The Markandeya Purina:
describes the Jambudvlpa being low on the south and north,
35
and highly elevated in the middle. The elevated region in
the middle is named ILavrta or Meruvar^a. On the northern
half of this elevated region there are three subcontinents,

31. D.C. Sircar, Cosmography and Geography ... p. 39.

32. Stud. Ind. A$t., p. 66.
33. Ibid., p. 70 f.n.4; Brahmanda Pu. 37. 34.
34. Ibid., pp. 70-71.
35. Ibid., p. 71.
viz., Ramyaka, Hiranmaya and Uttarakuru. On the south too are
three, viz., Bharata, Kimpurusa and Harivaraa, Bharata being
the southernmost region, separated from the Kimpurusa by the
Himavat chain, and described like Uttarakuru (the northernmost
region) as being shaped like a bow. So the Jambudvipa was
almost circular in shape according to the Puranas. Ilavrta or
-I'-

Meruvarsa is situated between the two halves and is said to be

shaped like the half-moon. East of it is Bhadrasva vara a and
36
to the west lies Ketumaia. Though the description of several
vara as of the J ambudvip a is idealistic and mythioal to a great
extent, yet there are "some faint indications that the original
accounts may have been based on some real knowledge of the
topography and physical features of central and perhaps also
27 in h»s VaiahMavi'ym a«oL Christianity (
Northern Asia". Dr. B.N. Seal^compares Mt. Meru with the
plateau of Pamir. The Western Tars a, Ketumaia drained by the
38
river Yanksu, may be connected with West Turkestan. Bhadrasva
eastern Tars a, watered by the Sita (the mythical prototype
of the Yaikand and Yellow rivers ) may be referred to Eastern
39
Turkestan and North China. The northernmost Tara a of the
Jambudvlpa, viz., Uttarakuru which has been placed beyond the
Himalayas, is an indefinite semi mythic tract which is identi-
40
fied by N.C. Das with certain countries in Northern Asia.

36. Ibid. pp. 71-72.

37. Ibid. p. 73.
38. Ibid, p.73, f.n.2; p. 74.
39. Ibid. p. 74.
40. Ancient Geography of Asia, N.C. Das, pp. 90-91 f.n.
 32 $-

Thus it is very probable that Jambudvlp a in the Brahmanical

literature may have denoted the continent of Asia as a whole.
At least it definitely had a much wider connotation than India
or Bharatavar^a which formed only a part of it.

When we turn to the Buddhist literature for an account

of the Jambudvlpa we are surprised to find that this name
denotes a far narrower piece of area than that found in the
Brahmanical texts. In fact Jambudvlpa always refers to India
or Bharatavar^a and not the continent of Asia throughout the
41
Buddhist literature. Childers in his Pall Dictionary points
out that when opposed to Sihaladlpa, Jambudlpa means the
continent of India.

It is said that in Jambudlpa there is Mt. Himava with

42
its 84,000 peaks, its lakes and mountain ranges. This con­
tinent owes its name to a colossal Jambu tree (also called
43
Naga) which grows there. Its trunk is 15 yojanas in girth,
and its outspreading branches are 50 yojanas in length. Its
44
shade is 100 yog anas in extent and its height 100 yojanas.
On account of this tree Janbudvlpa is also known as Jambuvana

41. p. 165.

42. DPPN I. p. 941.

43. Ibid.
44. B.C. law, India as described ... p.7*. all to symmetrical
and imaginary to be believed as correct.
Tin. 1. 30; SNA. ii. 443; Vsm. 1. 201?).; Sp. i. 119.
 33

or J ambus and a. ^ Jambudipa is 10,000^ or 7,000 yojanas^ in

48
extent. It is therefore called Maha or Great. Of the 10,000
yojanas of the Jambudipa* 4,000 are covered by the ocean, 3,000
4b -
by the Himalayas, and 3,000 are inhabited by men. Jambadipa
50
has 500 islands. In the earlier ages there were 199,000
kingdoms in Jambadipa, in the middle ages at one time 84,000
and at another 63,000, and in more recent ages about a hundred.
In the time of Gautama Buddha this continent contained 9,600,000
towns, 9,900,000 sea ports and 56 treasure cities. Malalasekara
points out that sometimes in Jambudipa there are as many as
84.000, cities; this number is sometimes reduced to 60,000,
___ 52
40,000 or even 2o,000, but neyer to less. In Asoka's time
c *x
there were 84,000 cities in each of which he built a monastery.
54
The Digha Nikaya narrates that the Exalted One while relating

45. B.C. Law, India as described ... p.7; p. xvi; ;|iN. yy'. 552;
SNA i. 121.
46. :§.&! 'jy. 429; SNA ii. 437; Geographical Essays, p. 6.
47. Lalit. p. 149; Geographical Essays, p. 6.
48. 429; Geographical Essays, p. 6.
49.. . B.C. Law, India as described ....p.7; y 437;
Ud. A. 300.
50. O.aT; r n ) 429; Manual of Buddhism, pp. 4, 17,
51. Manual of Buddhism, p. 4.
52. DPPN. I. p. 941.
53. Mhv. v. 176; Vsm. 2o1.
54. D. !' IlC. 75.
 34

the Cakkavatti Sihanada Suttanta predicted thus: "Jamhudipa

will he mighty and prosperous; the villages, towns add royal
cities will he so close that a cock would fly from each one
to the next. This Jamhudipa, one might think it a *Waveless
Deep* — will he pervaded hy mankind as a jungle is hy reeds
and rushes. In this continent of Jamhudipa there will he
84,000 towns with Ketumatl (Benares) the royal city, at their
head.'1 We learn from the Anguttara NikayaDD that in Jambu-
dlpa trifling in number are the pleasant parks, groves, lake^
etc., more numerous the steep precipitous places, unfordable
rivers, inaccessible mountain etc. Y. YenkatachellaSj Iyer in
57
his article "The Seven Dvipas of the Puranas" suggests some
plausible etymologies of the name Jamhudvipa to which we shall
refer in the chapter on its nomenclature. We are informed hy
the PapancasudanI that gold is collected from the whole of
_ *58 59
Jamhudipa. There were seven kinds of jewels here.

— 6
Merchants made sea voyages for trade from Jamhudvipa.

55. Geography of Early Buddhism, p. xvii.

56. A. I. 35; India as described ... pp. 7-8.
57. Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society, Yol. 18, p. 101.
58. ff'STAi"pigj M-A- IT-1%3
59. Mtu. I. 92.
60. B.G. Law, A Study of the Mahavastu, p. 128;
Divyavadana, p. 3, pp. 69-70, 142 etc.
 35 t-

61
Once a dreadful famine visited this continent, There are
five hundred rivers in the Jambudvipa, hut only five or ten
among them are to he reckoned. These ten rivers are :G-ahga,
Yamuna, Aciravatl, Sarabhu, Mahi, Sindhu, Sarassati,
— _ f'o
Yettavati, Yitamsa and Candabhaga.

Jambudvipa was the kingdom of a king overlord (Cakka-

63 -
vatti). There were 68,000 cities in Jambudvipa. Capital
cities like Bhadraiila etc. were rich, prosperous, extensive
and populous. Alms were easily obtained there. No taxes,
revenues or duties were imposed on goods. The calm'and quiet
*
countries were well-developed in agriculture. The villages,
market towns, cities, states and capitals were very close to
64
one another. The life span of people here was 44,000 years.
Jambudvipa finds mention in the Pali texts as the continent
over the whole of which the sovereignty of Dhammasoka prevail-
65 - .
ed. We are told in the Dipavamsa (Ch. YI, verse 21 ,i that
when Mahinda was ten years old, his father^ killed his brothers
and he spent four years in ruling Jambudipa.

Jamijudvlpa was a land of learning. The Milindapanha

informs us that in Jambudipa many arts and sciences were

61. Dh. A.Viipp. 368, 370, 374,

62. A. IY. 198-199, 202; Miln. p. 70 etc.; also of. Vsm. I. p.10.

63. A. IY. 90.

64. Divyavadana, p. 196.
65. Mhv. 52*. 17, 20, 55.
 -s 36
\

taught, e.g, the Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya and Vaisesika systems

of philosophy, arithmetic', music, medicine, the four vedas,
the Puranas, and the Itihasas, astronomy, magic, causation
66
and spells, the art of war, poetry and conveyancing. We
learn from the commentary on the Therigatha that there were
fjtj
disputants here well-versed in arts and sciences. There
were heretics and bhikkhus here, and unruliness of the
heretics was so very great that the bhikkhus stopped observing
68 /
the uposatha ceremony in Jambudipa for seven years. Thus /
the picture of Jambudvipa in Buddhist literature corresponds
very well with our subcontinent of India which has always
shown unity in diversity end diversity in unity and rested at
the pinnacle of glory in all aspects of culture and civiliza­
tion in ancient world.

The Buddha once declared that the people of Jambudipa

excel those of both Uttarakuru and TavatiijLsa in three respects —
69
courage, mindfulness and religious life. Buddhas and
70
Cakkavattis are bom only in Jambudipa. There were four
sounds he aid. throughout Jambudipa — the shout uttered by
Punnaka proclaiming his victory over ^hananjaya Koravya in a
game of dice; the bark of Vissakamma when taken about in guise

66. Miln. p. 3.
67. Thig. A. PTS. p. 87.
68. Mhv. Jrs.'. p.15' •
69. A. IV. 396; Kathavatthu. p. 999
70. Bu. A..g~4j-,-:X-'ATh^g ). Lalit. p. 19.
of a dog by Sakka threatening to devour all wicked beings after
the decay of Eassapa's Sis ana; the roar of Eusa challenging to
battle the seven kings who- sought the land of Pabhavati; and
the yell of Alavaka proclaiming his name from the top of
— 71
Eelasa on hearing that Buddha has visited his abode. For
the purpose of Carika the monks divided their tours in Jambu-
dipa into three circuits or mandalas, viz., the Mahamendala
extending over 900 leagues, the Ma3;Jhima extending over 600
72
and the Antima extending over 300 leagues.

We are told that there are sixteen Mahajanapadas or

— 73
Great States in Jambudvipa. They are referred to by name
in different texts, e.g., Anga, Magadha, Ei^i, Eosala etc.^

Thus the picture of Jambudvipa as we can restore from

the Buddhist literature is blurred in many places by fictitious
descriptions and exaggerated figures and accounts; but we have
no difficulty in realising the fact that the Buddhists implied
the Indian subcontinent, the undivided India with Pakistan and
Bangladesh by the tem Jambudvipa. Without exception this
teim has been used to convey the same connotation throughout

71. S.A. i. -3^etc.; DPM. I. 941-942.

72. S'p.. i. 197.

73. Lalit. pp. 22-23; Mtu. II. 2.
74. A. I. 213; IV. 252, 256, 260-261.
Mtu. 1. 40; also cf. D. II. pp. 202-203 giving the names
(

of 12 states and Culla Niddesa PTS. II. 37.

 38 t-

the Buddhist literature. As oka, the staunch supporter of

Buddhism and the Buddhist kings of the Pal a dynasty too have
75
stuck to this specific nomenclarure in their inscriptions.
In this way the Buddhist Jamhudvlpa was narrower in extent than
the Brahmanical one and it is difficult to determine who first
invented the name. It is probable, however, that both may
have borrowed the name from a common source and have used it
according to their own concepts.

Now, let us switch over to the easternmost continent

which has been named Purvavideha or Pubbavideha. It is 7,000
76
leagues in extent. Sirlsa (Acacia) is the principal tree of
77
this continent. It is the first Mahadlpa visited by a Cakka-
78
vatti when on tour. The name 'Purvavideha' shows a play on
the word 'deha* (body). The literal meaning of the word is
'noble body'. It is called so because the human height there
79
is double what it is in our continent, i.e. in the Jambudvlpa.
It has been described as having resemblance to a crescent moon
or half-moon. But curiously enough, four sides are attributed
to thiB half-moon. Three sides are 2,000 leagues (yojjanas)
long while the fourth is 350 leagues. The perimetre of the
75. Minor Bock Edict I of Asoka (Select Inscriptions, Vol.I, p.
75);, Monghyr Copper Plate grant of Devapala (Corpus of
Bengal Inscriptions, p. 118) etc.
76. SNA. 443; Bu. A. 139 says 8,000. Samantapasadika, I, p.119
also says 8,000. Lalitavistara, p. 149 says 9*000.
77. DPPN. II. 236; AA. II. 34. Vsm. i. 2o6 etc.
78. DPPN. II. 236; Bu. A. i. 138; Avadanakalpalata. 4. 48.
79. ERE. Vol. IV, p. 132.
 -i 39

continent is, therefore, 6,350 leagues.80 There are towns and

villages in this continent which are inhabited by people. The

__ Q-J
people of Purvavideha are said to have their own script. The
general life span of men here is 250 years. They are eight
cubits (hastas) long and their faces, like the continent itself,
are shaped like the half-moon.82 The particular expression

’bhumivasat» (i.e. because of the influence of the place) has

been used to explain the peculiar facial shape of the inhabi-
83
tants. The identification of the continent is still dispute
84
B.C. law in his "Geographical Essays*' asserts that Purvavideha
must certainly be identified with a portion of the Videha
country the chief city of which was Mithila. Videha is thought
to be identical with the modern Tirhut.8^ But this identifica­

tion of the continent is doubtful simply because of the fact

that the Yideha country has been described as a portion of the
Jambudvipa. To suggest the identification of Purvavideha with
the Videha country in Jambudvipa renders meaningless the
distinction between the Purvavideha continent and the continent

80. EKE Yol. II, p. 132.

81. lalit. pp. 125-126.
82. EKE Yol. IV. p. 132.
83. EKE Yol. IY. p. 132; . ^ ’7, . ; cf. Hardy, legends,

p. 85.
84. p. 6.
85. EKE. Yol. IY. p. 132; PHAI. p. 48.
 40

of Jambudvipa. Again, it .has been said in several textB8^ that

the land in Jambudvipa where people coming originally from

87
Purvavideha settled down, was named Yideha after them. It

proves clearly that Purvavideha has nothing to do with any

— _ 88
internal portion of the Jambudvipa. In the Divyavadana also

the continent of Purvavideha has been clearly distinguished

from that of the Jambudvipa. Mandhata, the king of Jambudvipa

is said to have brought under his control also the continents

of Purvavideha, Aparagoyina and Uttaraku.ru. Prom the Sumaiigala-

vil'asinl8^ we come to know that when it is noon in Jambudflp^J;

it is sunset in Pubbavideha. It implies that there is a

difference of at least 5 to 6 hours between the standard times

euidl
86. PapahcasudanI Sin. ed. i. p. 484'/. Dh. A. Sin. ed., ii.
mfejoiAol to in * .
p. 482', AIndia as described ... , B.C. law, p. 2^ M-A.(PTS)

87. Yuan Chwang refers to Purvavideha as P'i-rt'i-ha island

Walter Xj). 32). D.C. Sircar in his Cosmography and Geography

in early Indian literature (p. 42} commentss It is not

easy to explain this peculiar name applied by the

Buddhists ......... one thing that occurs to us is that

lord Buddha ... was born at a place near Bhagwanpur

in the Tarai to the north of the Chemparan District of

North Bihar, so that the- name Yideha in Eastern India

had a special significance to the followers of the Buddha.

88. Dvy. p. 132.

89. {Hi'.. 868.
 -i 41

of the two countries. This difference suggests the location of

Pubbavideha at a distance of 90° of longitude to the east of

Jambudipa. It is probable that Pubbavideha may be related

with some country to the -east of India at a distance of 90 or
100 degrees of longitude. It is interesting to note that the
continent of Australia whioh falls within 115°-150° roughly,
at some stretch of imagination, seems to look like a half­
moon and,has four distinct sides of which the northern, /
eastern and southern are longer than the western. It will, /
however, be utter indiscretion to make any attempt at connect­
ing Pubbavideha with Australia in the absence of any positive
guiding fact at hand.

The westernmost continent has been variously called

— 90
Aparagoyana (in Pali), Aparagodaniya, Aparagodanika or even
— Q1
only Godaniya in Sanskrit. In the Dulva it is called
- 92 93
Aparagaudani. Tuan Chwang calls it Ku-t’o-ni. The term
Aparagodana or Aparagoyana has been often translated as
’Western Pasturage' which is really the meaning of Its Tibetan
version Wub-ba-lain Spyo and sometimes it has been literally
94
translated as Western Oxwain. In the Encyclopaedia of
95
Religion and Ethics Goda is said to be a geographical name.

90. Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, Vol. II, p. 8.

91. Eg. in Bodhisattvavadanakalpalata 4. 50; Lalit. p. 149.
92. DPPN. I. 117; Hockhill. 84.
93. Tuan Chwang, Watters J.p. 3$.
94. ERE Yol.IV. pp.132ff; Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, Yol.II, p.8.
95. ERE. Yol. IY. p. 132.
 42 j-

Among the Nikayas, only the Anguttara Nikaya refers to

96
this continent. There the Buddha illustrating the universa­
lity of change describes the Cakkavala, the thousandfold world
system, as containing thousands of suns, moons etc. and among
them thousands of each of the four continents, of which
Aparagoyana is mentioned as one. But here the Buddha uses
very conventional symbols to illustrate the universal nature
of anicca and dukkha. In fact his purpose here is not to
assert the literal existence of thousands of continents
Aparagoyana by name.-7' So it will not be fruitful for us to
accept this description with a spirit of geographical research.
In the commentarial literature, however, the notion of Aparago­
yana is taken more literally. In the Sutta Nipata commentary
it has been described as being surrounded by five hundred
islands, and the whole continent there is said to be 7,000
98 "
yojanas in extent, a figure calculated by Hardy to be
99
roughly 70,000 miles. Samantapasadika, commentaiy on the
Yinaya Pitaka, also gives the extent as 7,000 yojjanas.^^ The

Buddhist Sanskrit text Lalitavistara, however, gives the extent

101
of this continent as 8,000 yo;Janas. The Encyclopaedia of
96. Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, Yol.II, p.8; A. Y. 59.
97. Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, Yol. II, p.8.
98. Ibid.
99. Ibid. Hardy, Legend's and Theories of the Buddhists,
pp. 85r 89.
100. Spl.p. 119.
101. Lai it. 149.
 -j 43 j-

Religion and Ethics describes this continent to be round in

shape, having three sides measuring 2,500 leagues each. Its

102
perimeter, therefore, is 7,500 leagues.

The description of the continent as found in the

Buddhist texts and commentaries, seems rather curious. This

- 103
island continent is said to be inhabited by men, who have
104
no houses and sleep on the ground. The human life span /
1 rfi /
here is 500 years and the height of people 16 cubits. w In/

the centre of the continent there is a Kadamba tree (nancleA

Cadanmba) whose trunk is 15 yojanas in girth, and whose trunk

and arms are 50 yojanas in length and which is believed to

stand there for a whole kappa.

1 r>6 This tree may be compared

to the Jambu tree of Jambudvipa. In the Buddhavamsa commentary,

the Aparagoyina continent is referred to as being in the orbit

of king Yideha along with Jambudipa. This idea is associated

107 1 08
with the conception of a Cakkavattin. The Divyavadana

102. E.R.E. Yol. IY. p. 132.

103. Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, Yol. II, p. 8.

104. Ibid.

105. E.R.E. Yol. IY. p. 132.

106. Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, Yol.II, p.8; AtthasaLini, p.298;
ManorathapuranI \lih34 ____ Yisuddhimagga,up. 2o6;

DPFN. I. p. 117.
107. Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, Yol. II, pp. 8-9.

108. Dvy. 132-34; also Bodhis attvav ad anakalpal at a, 4. 50.

says that king Mandhata conquered this continent straightaway
and the same text describes it as resting on a circle of gold
and to be on a level with the ocean.109 The Jatakas mention a

magical jewel which is capable of reflecting among other wonders

_ 110
the four continents Aparagoyana being one of them. The Maha-
111
vastu Avadana also speaks of such a jewel. It is believed
that some of the inhabitants came with Mandhata from Aparagoyana
to Jambudlpa and settled down there. The country they colonised
'312
was called Aparanta."

Though it is very difficult today to point out a specific

identification for the Aparagoyana continent, scholars have
suggested different views on this point. R.l. Mitra, follow­
ing M. Foucaux takes the Godanlya country, referred to in the
113
Lalitavistara to be Gauda or North Bengal. But we cannot
accept this view for the simple reason that Aparagodana has
been _
■ Y~Jj alwaysAclearly distinguished from the Jambudvipa in all
114
the Buddhist texts as also here in lalitavistara, and there­
fore cannot be identified with a place in Jambudvipa or India

109. Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, Tol. II, p. 9»

110. Ibid.j J. IV. 278.
111. Mahavastu, II. 95.
112. D.A., 11- 482; Papahcasudanl, i. 226; DPPN. I. p. 117;
Encyclopaedia of. Buddhism, Tol. II, p. 8.
113. Lalit• R.l. Mitra, p. 222.
114. lalit., p. 149.
 45

itself. Again, in that case the migration of people from

Aparagoyana to Jambudipa as stated in the Pali commentaries
becomes absolutely meaningless. P.C. Bagchi11^ says that

Godana was the name by which Khotan was known in ancient times.
In ancient Chinese transcription the name as Yu-t'ien was in
early pronunciation (g) iu-den, i.e. Godana.

Prom a very interesting information about the Aparago-

116
yana continent, supplied by the Sumangalavilasini, we may
try to suggest a probable location of this continent. It has
been stated that when the sun rises in Jambudipa, it is the
middle watch of the night in Aparagoyana; sunset in Aparagoyana
is midnight in Jambudipa and sunrise is noon in Jambudipa,
117
sunset in^Pubbavideha and midnight in Uttarakuru. If we
take this statement a bit seriously, an interesting inference
may be drawn about the probable site of the continent in the .
globe. Prom the statement it appears that the difference of
time between Jambudipa and Aparagoyana must be at least 5 to
6 hours. As Jambudipa in Buddhist literature represents the
Indian subcontinent, the Aparagoyana should be placed some­
where in the west with a difference of about 90 degrees of

115. P.C. Bagchi, 'On .the Role of Central Asian Nomads in the
History of India', JGIS, Vol. X, pp. 107-111; Cultural
and Colonial Expansion: Central Asia, China and the Par
East, A Comprehensive History of India, Yol.II, Ch. XXIV,
p. 764.

116.1X7V:jir,. 868.
117. DPPN.
*
I. 117.
 -i 46 :-

longitude from India. As India with its limits at that age

fell within longitudes 6o°B to 100°E approximately, the
difference of 90 degrees of longitude suggests the location
of Aparagoyina somewhere between longitudes 10°E and 20°W.
— 118
As Aparagoyina is to the northwest of Jambudipa, we should
not take the countries in the south in the same longitude in
consideration. Therefore, the countries which we may count
are some portions of Europe like Prance, Spain, the British
isles etc., and Africa. But at the same time we must keep
in mind the vast distance between this portion of the world
and India. It is hardly possible that the Indians of that
age had a clear knowledge of the far western countries. It
seems more reasonable to accept all the descriptions of the
Western Island Continent as fictitious and imaginery, and
not to stick to the very faint possibilities of obtaining
any sober geographical information from them.

It is, however, highly probable that people from some

western country outside India may have colonised the western
seacoast of India and gradually became inhabitants of this sub­
continent. The colony probably expanded as to become a separate
regional division called Aparanta. The memory of their original

118. As Mount Sineru is to the north of Jambudipa and Aparago-

yaiia is to the west of Mount Sineru, therefore, Aparago-
yana was to the north-west of Jambudipa (cf. India as
described ..., Ch. I, pp. 1-2).
 47 s-

homeland gradually grew fainter and fainter, and gave "birth to

fictitious descriptions about that distant country in the vest.

Now, we shall take up for discussion the continent of

Uttarakuru which is the most mysterious and mythical in
character.

Though the name Uttarakuru is common between the

Brahmanical and the Buddhist literature, there is a distinct
difference in its treatment in these texts just as it happens
in the case of Jambudvlpa. Uttarakuru of the Buddhist litera­
ture is an Island Continent situated to the north of the Sumeru
or Sineru mountain. J But in the Brahmanical literature it
(also called Harivarsa) is referred to as one of the northern
t

varsas or subcontinents of the Jambudvlpa (which may precisely

12n
be said coextensive with the continent of Asia). The other
northern varsas referred to with Uttarakuru are Ram ay aka and
121
Hiranmaya. It is interesting to note that in both Brahmani­
cal and Buddhist literature Uttarakuru is said to be situated
122
to the north of Meru or Sumeru.

Uttarakuru and its inhabitants find mention in our

ancient literature from very early times. The Aitareya
1 P*3)
Brabmana knows it. It has been said there that it is the

119. India as described ..., Ch. I, p. 2.

120. Cosmography and Geography, p. 52.
121. Stud. Ind. Ant., p. 72.
122. Ibid., p. 71; Cosmography and Geography, p. 40.
123. Stud. Ind. Ant., p. 74; Ai. Bra., viii. 14. 4.
 -s' 48

land of the gods and cannot be conquered by human beings. The

author of the Bharatakosa remarks on the basis of this statement
that Uttarakuru had a real existence and was still historically
125
alive in the memory of people. D.N. Sen also believes that
though Uttarakuru "is often mentioned in terms which would make
it a legendary land", yet "it is also sometimes spoken of in a
way which leaves no shadow of doubt that Uttarakuru was a real
126
country". But later on people gradually became oblivious of
its real entity and believed it to be a fictitious land. In the
Mahabharata, the Eamayana and the Puranas it is presented with
an excessive colour of imagination. The Eamayana gives the
127
following description of this country in a mythic fashion*

124. Ai. Bra., viii. 23.

125. Bharatakosa, Yol. I, p. 6o5*
126. D.N. Sen in Trans Himalayan Eeminiscences in Pali Literature,
I.A., 1921, p. 157.
127. N.C. Das, 'Ancient Geography of Asia compiled from Yalmlki
Eamayana, pp. 90-91 f.n.; E. Kiskindhyakanda, Ch.43, SI ok as
56-59. N.C. Das also quotes Griffith's translation of these
verses* /""where the golden lands of lilies gleam
Eesplendent on the silver stream! J
Still on your forward journey keep,
And rest you on the 'Northern deep',
Where springing from the billows high
Mount Somagiri seeks the sky,
And lightens with perpetual glow
The 'sunless realm' that lies below.
Then turn Yanaras, search no more
Nor tempt the 'sunless' boundless shore.
 . 49

Tamatikramya s'ailendramuttarah payasannidheh

Tatra Somagirimama madhye hemamayo mahan

Sa tu deso visuryo'pi tasya bh'as'a prakas'ate

Suryalaksmyabhijneyastapatyeva vivasvata

Sa hi Somagirirnama devanamapi durgamah

Tamalokya tat ah ks ipramup avartitum arhatha

E tav advan araih sakyam gantum vinarapuhgavah

Abhaskaramamaryadam na janimastatab par am.

Not only the Kamayana, but other Brahmanioal texts also refer

to this country. Thus the Mahabharata and the Brahmanda Pur an a

128
mention Uttarakuru. The latter places it far to the north

of India and mentions that it was bounded on the north by the

129
ocean. Nundolal De in his Geographical Dictionary of

Ancient and Mediaeval India remarks in this context that the

name perhaps exists in Korea which appertained to Uttara-

130
kurudvlpa.

Before we switch over to the description of Uttarakuru

as found in the Buddhist literature it will not be out of

context to have a short discussion on the probable identifica­

tion of this country as suggested by eminent scholars.

128. G.D. p. 214'jMbh. BhT5ma.7.a) '

129. Ibid.

130. Ibid.
 -s 9=0

131
It has been said in Muir’s Sanskrit Texts, Vol.I:
’The Uttarakurus, it should be remembered may have been a real
people, as they are mentioned in the Aitareya Brahmana, VIII.
14 ......... wherefore the several nations who dwell in this
northern quarter beyond the Himavat, the Uttarakurus and the
Uttaramadras are consecrated to glorious dominion and people
term them glorious. Professor Lassen places it to the east
of Kashgarh. 132 HIb arguments deserve special attention. He
has examined facts very carefully to identify the Uttarakuru •
with which the Harivarsa appears 'at the furthest accessible
extremity of the earth*. Lassen thinks that "the Uttarakurus
were formerly quite independent of the mythical system of
dvlpas though they were included i# it, at an early date."
The foundation of Lassen's opinion that 'the conception of the
Uttarakurus is based upon an actual country and not on mere
133
invention' is laid on the following arguments:
1) The way in which they are mentioned in the Vedas proves it.
2) Uttarakuru exists in historical times as a real country.
3') The way in which the legend makes mention of that
region as the home of primitive customs also may
be presented in support of this view.

131. Ancient Geography of Asia.........N.O. Das, pp. 90-91 f.n.

132. G.D. p. 214.
R50-S5i
Griffith's Ramayana, Vol. IV, r£Ctn_£ Additional Notes ff

133. Ancient Geography of Asia ...

• • • by N.C. Das, pp. 90-91 f.n.
 51 :

Ptolemy speaks of a mountain, a people and. a city called

Ottoro-korra. It is a part" of the country which he calls
Serica. According to Lassen's view, this Ottoro Korra of
134
Ptolemy must he sought to the east of Kashgarh. Uttarakuru
135
has teen referred to as Kuo-lo Island by Tuan Chwang.

According to Mr. 3unsen the slopes of Belur Tagh. a

mountain range in Central Asia in the high land of the Pamir
in which the great rivers of that region have got their
source, are the Uttarakuru of the Aryan Hindus. The Belur
Tagh is also called the Ki-un-ldn; it forms the northern
boundary of Western Tibet and is covered with perpetual snow.
13
It is also called Mustagh, Karakorum, Hindukush and Tsunlung.

137
Nundolal De in his Geographical Dictionary expresses
the opinion that Uttarakuru is the northern portion of Garwal
and Hunade4a where the river Mandakini and Citraratha Kan ana
are situated. According to him it originally included the
countries beyond the Himalayas. It appears from the. Rimayana
and the Mahabherata that Tibet and eastern Turkestan were
138
included in Uttarakuru.

134. G.D., p. 214.

135. Yuan Chwang, Watters,I.p. 3^.
136. G.D., p. 214; Balfour's Cyclopaedia of India, S.Y.,
Belur Tagh.
137. G.D. p. 214.
138. Ibid. Mbh., Bhlsma, Ch.7; R. Kiskindhyakinda, Ch. 43.
 N„C. DaS in his Ancient Geography of Asia compiled
. _ _ 139
from the Yalmiki Ramayana has laid some precious remarks
about the identification of Uttarakuru. His opinion is based
on the description of this country given in the Ramayana. He
thinks that the fantastic realm of the Uttarakurus may be
placed in the 'indefinite semi-mythic tract which extends
from the Kail as a range and the great desert of Mongolia on the
east and south, to the Arctic Ocean on the north. It probably
included the countries now known as Mongolia, China and
Siberia'. This unexplored 'region' according to ancient
belief was the land of the Siddhas and demi-gods like the
Yaksas and Kinnaras.

140
P.C. Bagchi remarks that Uttarakuru, Ottorrogorra
of the Classical Writers was in Chinese Turkestan.

141
D.N. Sen with his profound wisdom has put forth
a great number of evidences and arguments in support of the
view that Uttarakuru represented in ancient times some trans-
Himalayan country. He has drawn our attention to two curious
Pali words "digharattam" (= Sanskrit dlrgharatram) used in the
sense of 'a long time', and rattannu (= Sanskrit ratri^na)

139. Pp. 90-91 f.n.

140. A Comprehensive History of Indian Yol. II, Ch. XXIY,
Cultural and Colonial Expansion: Central Asia, China and
the Par East by P.C. Bagchi, p. 764.
141. D.N. Sen, Trans Himalayan Reminiscences in Pali litera­
ture, I.A. 1921, p. I57ff.
 -S 53 8—

used in the sense of 'knower of time*. He comments that these

two worcls; "may take us hack to the period of the history of
the Pali speaking people when they lived in regions where
nights were more prominent than days". Some countries accord- .
ing to him refer undoubtedly to a region beyond the Himalayas
and among such countries he names Uttarakuru first. He has
quoted several passages from the Brahmanical Sanskrit and Pali
Buddhist texts to show that the Uttarakuru was a real land to
the north of the Himalayas. The Ramayana describes Mt. Somagiri
lightening with perpetual glow the "sunless realm" of Uttarakuru.
This description reminds us of Aurora Borealis or Northern
lights seen in the Arctic region (and also Aurora Australis
seen in the Southern Hemisphere ) during the six months of
darkness there. Dr. H.C. Raychaudhuri in his "Studies in
CP-75)
Indian Antiquities'^ also comments that "Scholars find in
these lines (sa tu deso visuryhpi tasyabhasa prakabate ) a
reference to the Aurora Borealis and are inclined to credit
the Ramayana with some accurate knowledge of the north".'V . ,~J

In Buddhist literature Uttarakuru has been treated as

a land of all wonder, in fact the ’31 Dorado’ of the ancient
142 143
world. The Dlgha Nikaya gives a detailed description of
this country which is quite interesting, but in most places
incredible. Other Buddhist texts also speak of this continent
144
in various contexts. Prom these records which mingle

142. D.C. Sircar, Cosmography ...» p. 41.

143. III. I99ff. (Atanatiya Sutta).
144. UPPN. _ ' - I, pp. 355-356. (contd.. to p. 54).
 -s 54

greater gsaount of fiction with peribapF very insignificant

amount of reality, we have to glean those information which
are important from the geographical point of view, or
interesting otherwise.

The inhabitants of Uttarahu.ru do not have any personal

or private property, nor even do they have their own wives.
Their cities are built in the air. The names of these cities
are rather interesting, e.g. Atanata, Kusinata, Natasuriya,
Parakusitanata and so on. The chief city is named Alakamanda.
There is a lake named Dharani in Uttarakuru. The trees of
this wonderful continent are all evergreen. A Kapparukkha
(= Sanskrit Kalpavrksa) or ‘wishing tree* has been mentioned
which lasts for a whole kappa (= Kalpa in Sanskrit). This
tree is a mythical one like the Jambu tree in the Jambudvlpa.
It is hundred yojanas high, and when the people require any­
thing, the tree extends its branches to them and gives what­
ever desired. The people of this continent do not live in
houses and they sleep on the ground and therefore are called
145
bhumisaya. Curiously enough there exists no relationship
as father, mother, or brother. The whole continent is a low
place or valley. The deadbodies there are not cremated, but

The description of Uttarakuru that follows, has been

(I-355-356)
summarised here from D^P .P--U 1/v and only the salient
features of the continent have been touched upon.

145. Thag. A. ii. ”.JT7

 55

are left In the cemetery from where enormous birds, more ; ^

powerful than elephants, convey them to the Yugandhara rocks.
This description reminds us of the ancient Persian system of
cremating the dead. The continent of Uttarakuru has been
described as a rich, everprosperous and resourceful one,
frequently visited by the Buddha and several Paccekabuddhas
and ascetics for alms.- The inhabitants of Uttarakuru are
146
squarefaced. Hardy remarks that it is supposed that the
legends respecting squarefaced or squareheaded animals have
had their origin in the appearance of the seadogs that inhabit
the lakes of Siberia. Both the males and females of. Uttara­
kuru always retain the appearance of persons about sixteen
years. There is a resemblance .in position and general
character between the inhabitants of Uttarakuru and the
Hyperboreans who dwell beyond the influence of Boreas, have
never felt the cold north-wind., whose females were delivered
without the sense of pain, who live to the age of a thousand
147
years without any of the usual accompaniments of senility.

As to the extent of this continent, there is a diver­

sity of opinions among the Buddhist texts and commentaries.
148 -
In the Lalitavistara, its extent is said to be 10,000 yojanas.

146. Hardy, A Manual of Buddhism, p. 14, f.n. 3.

147. Ibid.
148. Lalit. ed. lefmann, p. 149.
Elsewhere in the commentarlal literature its extent is fixed
14$
to .8,000 yojanas and it is said to he surrounded by the sea.
Sometimes it is referred to in the list of the four Mahadlpas
150
each of which is surrounded by 500 islands. In the
Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics it has been said to be
151
an oblong 4 x 2000 leagues.

According to the Lalitavistara the Uttarakuru island

152
had its own alphabet which was mastered by the Buddha.

Though it is very difficult to separate the facts from

the huge bulk of imagination and overeolouring and consequently
the task of giving a specific geographical identification to
Uttarakuru has been rendered harder, one is, however, attracted
to the curious fact that there are strange similarities between
the Uttarakuru people and the Eskimos. The Eskimos also have
no rigid bond of social relationship like father, mother or brother
— - - - ■ n ----- — - ~ ■ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - r— ■

149. D.-.P^P'lb * '7;-. I, p. 355;

D.A. il. 623; Bu. A. 113; p. 119.
150. D P:,P K , b."... I, p. 355.
A. Ob 227; V. 59; O' C : 119.
151. ERE Vol. IV, pp. 132£f.
152. Lalit, ed. Lefmann, pp. 125-26. It is very interesting
to note that the Lalitavistara (p. 19) refers to Uttara­
kuru as a pratyanta-dvipa (Historical Geography, of Ancient
India by B.C. Law, p. 158).
 57

among them. Their old skin withers out and a new skin appears

over their bodies thus giving them a much younger look some­

what resembling the endless youth of the Uttarakuru people.

The Eskimos also have no specific or permanent home. They

dwell in tents in summer and in their snowhouses called

’igloos’ in winter. This natural and somewhat insignificant

home of the Eskimos reminds us of the epithet 'bhumisaya1

given to the Uttarakuru people. We cannot, however, speak

of any definite connection between the two people in absence

of any decisive -proof at hand. /