: जम्बुद्वीप) is the dvipa

Dvipa

In Indian mythology, dvīpa is the term for the major divisions of the terrestrial sphere, sometimes translated as "continents"....

 ("island" or "continent") of the terrestrial world, as envisioned in the cosmologies of Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

, Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

, and Jainism

Jainism

Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...

, which is the realm where ordinary human beings live. Although the description given below does not go with the Jainism

Jainism

Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...

 description of Jambudvipa and its surroundings, the word Jambudvipa holds a very important place in Jain Cosmology

Jain Cosmology

Jain cosmology is the description of the shape and functioning of the physical and metaphysical Universe and its constituents according to Jainism, which includes the canonical Jain texts, commentaries and the writings of the Jain philosopher-monks...

, and has a different architecture.

The word Jambudvipa literally refers to "the land of Jambu trees" where Jambu is the name of the species (also called Jambul

Jambul

Jambul is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae. Jambul is native to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia...

 or Indian Blackberry) and dvipa means "island" or "continent".

Puranic description as per Hindu cosmology

According to Puranic cosmography, the entire Cosmos is divided into seven concentric island continents (sapta-dvipa vasumati) separated by the seven encircling oceans, each double the size of the preceding one (going out from within). The seven continents of the Puranas are stated as Jambudvipa, Plaksadvipa, Salmalidvipa, Kushadvipa, Krounchadvipa, Shakdvipa

Shakdvipa

Surrounded by the sea of whey is Shakdvipa with an extent of thirty-two lakh Yojans. It has a huge tree of Shaka, hence its name. With a sweet fragrance of this tree, the whole island emits a pleasant scent. The ruler of this island, Medhatithi was also a son of Priyvrata...

, and Pushkaradvipa. Seven intermediate oceans consist of salt-water, sugarcane juice, wine, ghee

Ghee

Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian cuisine....

, curd

Curd

Curds are a dairy product obtained by curdling milk with rennet or an edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar, and then draining off the liquid portion. The increased acidity causes the milk proteins to tangle into solid masses, or curds. The remaining liquid, which contains only...

, milk and water respectively.

Continent Jambudvipa (Indian Blackberry

Jambul

Jambul is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae. Jambul is native to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia...

 Island), also known as Sudarshanadvipa, forms the innermost concentric island in the above scheme. Its name is said to derive from a Jambu tree (another name for the Indian Blackberry

Jambul

Jambul is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae. Jambul is native to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia...

). The fruits of the Jambu tree are said, in the Viṣṇupurāṇa (ch.2) to be as large as elephants and when they become rotten and fall upon the crest of the mountains, a river of juice is formed from their expressed juice. The river so formed is called Jambunadi (Jambu river) and flows through Jambudvipa, whose inhabitants drink its waters. Insular continent Jambudvipa is said to comprise nine varshas (zones) and eight significant parvatas (mountains).

Markandeya Purana

Markandeya Purana

The Markandeya Purana is one of the major eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts. It is written in the style of a dialogue between the ancient sage Markandeya and Jaimini, a disciple of Vyasa.-Contents:...

 portrays Jambudvipa as being depressed on its south and north and elevated and broad in the middle. The elevated region forms the varsha named Ila-vrta or Meruvarsha. At the center of Ila-vrta lies the golden Mount Meru

Mount Meru (Mythology)

Mount Meru is a sacred mountain in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology as well as in Jain cosmology, and is considered to be the center of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritual universes...

, the king of mountains. On the summit of Mount Meru, is the vast city of Lord Brahma

Brahma

Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...

, known as Brahmapuri. Surrounding Brahmapuri are 8 cities - the one of Lord Indra

Indra

' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

 and of seven other Devatas

Deva (Hinduism)

' is the Sanskrit word for god or deity, its related feminine term is devi. In modern Hinduism, it can be loosely interpreted as any benevolent supernatural beings. The devs in Hinduism, also called Suras, are often juxtaposed to the Asuras, their half brothers. Devs are also the maintainers of...

.

Markandeya Purana and Brahmanda Purana

Brahmanda Purana

The Brahmanda Purana is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts and has been assigned the eighteenth place in almost all the lists of the Puranas.Brahma in Sanskrit means "the biggest", anda/andam means globe...

 divide Jambudvipa into four vast regions shaped like four petals of a lotus with Mount Meru being located at the center like a pericarp. The city of Brahmapuri is said to be enclosed by a river, known as Akash Ganga. Akash Ganga is said to issue forth from the foot of Lord Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

 and after washing the lunar region falls "through the skies" and after encircling the Brahmapuri "splits up into four mighty streams", which are said to flow in four opposite directions from the landscape of Mount Meru and irrigate the vast lands of Jambudvipa.

The common names of the dvīpas, having their varṣas (9 for Jambu-dvīpa, 7 for the other dvīpas) with a mountain and a river in each varṣa, is given in several Purāṇas http://texts.00.gs/cosmography,_Astika.htm. There is a distinct set of names provides, however, in other Purāṇas http://texts.00.gs/cosmography,_Astika_alternative.htm. The most detailed geography is that described in the Vāyu Purāṇa http://texts.00.gs/cosmography,_Vayu.htm.

In Buddhism

The Buddhist cosmology

Buddhist cosmology

Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the Universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries.-Introduction:...

 divides the (circle of the earth) into three separate levels: Kāmadhātu (Desire realm), Rūpadhātu (Form realm), and Ārūpyadhātu (Formless realm). In the Kāmadhātu is located Mount Sumeru

Sumeru

Sumeru or Sineru is the name of the central world-mountain in Buddhist cosmology. Etymologically, the proper name of the mountain is Meru , to which is added the approbatory prefix su-, resulting in the meaning "excellent Meru" or "wonderful Meru".The concept of Sumeru is closely related to the...

 which is said to be surrounded by four island-continents. "The southernmost island is called Jambudvīpa". The other three continents of Buddhist accounts around Sumeru are not accessible to humans from Jambudvīpa. Jambudvīpa is shaped like a triangle with a blunted point facing south. In its center is a gigantic Jambu tree from which the continent takes its name, meaning "Jambu Island".

Jambudvīpa is the region where the humans live and is the only place where a being may become enlightened by being born as a human being. It is in Jambudvīpa that one may receive the gift of Dharma

Dharma (Buddhism)

Dhamma or Dharma in Buddhism can have the following meanings:* The state of Nature as it is * The Laws of Nature considered collectively....

 and come to understand the Four Noble Truths

Four Noble Truths

The Four Noble Truths are an important principle in Buddhism, classically taught by the Buddha in the Dharmacakra Pravartana Sūtra....

, the Noble Eightfold Path

Noble Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path , is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion...

 and ultimately realize the liberation from the cycle of life and death

Samsara (Buddhism)

or sangsara is a Sanskrit and Pāli term, which translates as "continuous movement" or "continuous flowing" and, in Buddhism, refers to the concept of a cycle of birth , and consequent decay and death , in which all beings in the universe participate, and which can only be escaped through...

. Another reference is from the Buddhist text Mahavamsa

Mahavamsa

The Mahavamsa is a historical poem written in the Pali language, of the kings of Sri Lanka...

, where the emperor Ashoka

Ashoka

Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...

's son Mahinda

Mahinda

Mahinda was a Buddhist monk depicted in Buddhist sources as bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka. He was the son of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka.- Historical Sources :...

 introduces himself to the Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

n king Devanampiyatissa

Devanampiyatissa

Tissa, later Devanampiya Tissa was one of the earliest rulers of Sri Lanka based at the ancient capital of Anuradhapura from 307 BC to 267 BC. His reign was notable for the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka under the aegis of Mauryan Emperor Ashoka...

 as from Jambudvipa, referring to what is now the Indian mainland.

In Jainism

According to Jain cosmology

Jain cosmology

Jain cosmology is the description of the shape and functioning of the physical and metaphysical Universe and its constituents according to Jainism, which includes the canonical Jain texts, commentaries and the writings of the Jain philosopher-monks...

, Jambūdvīpa is at the centre of Madhyaloka, or the middle part of the universe, where the humans reside. Jambūdvīpaprajñapti or the treatise on the island of Roseapple tree contains a description of Jambūdvīpa and life biographies of and King Bharata. Trilokasāra (Essence of the three worlds), Trilokaprajñapti (Treatise on the three worlds), Trilokadipikā (Illumination of the three worlds) and (Summary of Jain geography) are the other texts that provide the details of Jambūdvīpa and Jain cosmology.
Madhyaloka consists of many continent-islands surrounded by oceans, first eight whose names are :-

{| class="wikitable"

|- style="background-color:#FFFF00;font-size:12pt;font-weight:bold" valign="top"
| width="141" Height="15.75" | Continent/ Island
| width="165" | Ocean
|- style="font-style:Italic" valign="top"
|style="font-style:Italic" Height="12.75" | Jambūdvīpa
| Lavanoda (Salt - ocean)
|- style="font-style:Italic" valign="top"
|style="font-style:Italic" Height="12.75" | Ghatki Khand
| Kaloda (Black sea)
|- style="font-style:Italic" valign="top"
|style="font-style:Italic" Height="12.75" | Puskarvardvīpa
| Puskaroda (Lotus Ocean)
|- style="font-style:Italic" valign="top"
|style="font-style:Italic" Height="12.75" | Varunvardvīpa
| Varunoda (Varun Ocean)
|- style="font-style:Italic" valign="top"
|style="font-style:Italic" Height="12.75" | Kshirvardvīpa
| Kshiroda (Ocean of milk)
|- style="font-style:Italic" valign="top"
|style="font-style:Italic" Height="12.75" | Ghrutvardvīpa
| Ghrutoda (Ghee ocean)
|- style="font-style:Italic" valign="top"
|style="font-style:Italic" Height="12.75" | Ikshuvardvīpa
| Iksuvaroda (Ocean of Sugarcane Juice)
|- style="font-style:Italic" valign="top"
|style="font-style:Italic" Height="12.75" | Nandishwardvīpa
|style="font-style:Italic" | Nandishwaroda
|}

Mount Meru is at the centre of the world surrounded by Jambūdvīpa, in form of a circle forming a diameter of 100,000 yojanas.

Jambūdvīpa continent has 6 mighty mountains, dividing the continent into 7 zones (Ksetra). The names of these zones are:

1. Bharat Kshetra
2. Mahavideh Kshetra
3. Airavat Kshetra
4. Ramyak
5. Hairanyvat Kshetra
6. Haimava Kshetra
7. Hari Kshetra

The three zones i.e. Bharat Kshetra, Mahavideh Kshetra and Airavat Kshetra are also known as Karma bhoomi because practice of austerities and liberation is possible and the Tirthankaras preach the Jain doctrine. The other four zones, Ramyak, Hairanyvat Kshetra, Haimava Kshetra and Hari Kshetra are known as akarmabhoomi or bhogbhumi as humans live a sinless life of pleasure and no religion or liberation is possible.

External links

• The Jambudvipa of Buddhist texts (metta.lk)