![Jambudiipasi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Jambudiipasi.jpg)
Jambudvīpa ( sa, जम्बुद्वीप;
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
: Jambudīpa) is a name often used to describe the territory of
Greater India
Greater India, or the Indian cultural sphere, is an area composed of many countries and regions in South and Southeast Asia that were historically influenced by Indian culture, which itself formed from the various distinct indigenous cultures ...
in
Ancient Indian sources.
The term is based on the concept of ''
dvīpa'', meaning "island" or "continent" in Ancient Indian cosmogony. The term ''Jambudvipa'' was used by
Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
to represent his realm in the third century BCE. The same terminology was used in subsequent texts, for instance
Kannada inscriptions
About 25,000 inscriptions found in Karnataka and states near by belongs to Kannada rulers like Kadambas, Western Ganga Dynasty, Rashtrakuta, Chalukya, Hoysala and Vijayanagara Empire. Many inscriptions related to Jainism are unearthed. The i ...
from the tenth century CE which also described the region, presumably
Ancient India
According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
, as ''Jambudvipa''.
The word Jambudvīpa literally refers to "the land of Jambu trees" where jambu (''
Syzygium cumini
''Syzygium cumini'', commonly known as Malabar plum, Java plum, black plum, jamun, jaman, jambul, or jambolan, is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae, and favored for its fruit, timber, and ornamental value. It is ...
'') grows.
Puranic description
![Map of Jambudvipa Indian Hindu Cosmology](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Map_of_Jambudvipa_Indian_Hindu_Cosmology.jpg)
According to
Puranic
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
cosmography, the world 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
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
are stated as Jambudvipa,
Plaksadvipa
Plakṣadvīpa ( sa, प्लक्षद्वीप) is the dvipa ("island" or "continent") of the terrestrial world, as envisioned in the cosmologies of Hinduism, is among seven dvipas as described by Bhagavata Puranas
The word Plakṣadvīp ...
,
Salmalidvipa,
Kusadvipa,
Krouncadvipa,
Sakadvipa, and
Pushkaradvipa. Seven intermediate oceans consist of salt-water, sugarcane juice, wine,
ghee
Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals.
Description
Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...
,
yogurt
Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in t ...
, milk and water respectively. The mountain range called
Lokaloka, meaning "world-no-world", stretches across this final sea, delineating the known world from the dark void.
Continent Jambudvipa (''
Rose Tree Island''), also known as ''Sudarshanadvipa'', forms the innermost concentric island in the above scheme. There is a belief that this island named after the people who lived in this island known as
Sambavas. Its name is said to derive from a Jambu tree (another name for the
Indian Blackberry). 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
The ''Markandeya Purana'' ( sa, मार्कण्डेय पुराण; IAST: ) is a Sanskrit text of Hinduism, and one of the eighteen major Puranas. The text's title Markandeya refers to a sage in Hindu History, who is the central char ...
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 (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritu ...
, the king of mountains. On the summit of Mount Meru, is the vast city of Lord
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
, known as ''Brahmapuri''. Surrounding Brahmapuri are 8 cities - the one of Lord
Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
and of seven other ''
Devatas
''Devata'' (pl: ''devatas'', meaning 'the gods') ( Devanagari: देवता; Khmer: ទេវតា (''tevoda''); Thai: เทวดา (''tevada''); Javanese, Balinese, Sundanese, Malay: ''dewata''; Batak languages: ''debata'' (Toba ...
''.
Markandeya Purana and
Brahmanda Purana
The ''Brahmanda Purana'' ( sa, ब्रह्माण्ड पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The text ...
divide Jambudvipa into four vast regions shaped like four petals of a
lotus with Mount Meru being located at the center like a
pericarp
Fruit anatomy is the plant anatomy of the internal structure of fruit. Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Aggre ...
. 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 ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
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. There is a distinct set of names provides, however, in other Purāṇas. The most detailed geography is that described in the ''
Vāyu Purāṇa''.
In Buddhism
The
Buddhist cosmology
Buddhist cosmology describes the planes and realms in which beings can be reborn. The spatial cosmology consists of a vertical cosmology, the various planes of beings, into which beings are reborn due to their merits and development; and a hori ...
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
Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritu ...
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, somewhat like the Indian subcontinent. In its center is a gigantic
Jambu tree from which the continent takes its name, meaning "Jambu Island".
Jambudipa, one of the four Mahādīpas, or great continents, which are included in the Cakkavāla and are ruled by a Cakkavatti. They are grouped round Mount Sumeru. In Jambudīpa is Himavā with its eighty-four thousand peaks, its lakes, mountain ranges, etc.
This continent derives its name from the Jambu-tree (also called Naga) which grows there, its trunk fifteen yojanas in girth, its outspreading branches fifty yojanas in length, its shade one hundred yojanas in extent and its height one hundred yojanas (Vin.i.30; SNA.ii.443; Vsm.i.205f; Sp.i.119, etc.) On account of this tree, Jambudīpa is also known as Jambusanda (SN.vs.552; SNA.i.121). The continent is ten thousand yojanas in extent; of these ten thousand, four thousand are covered by the ocean, three thousand by the Himālaya mountains, while three thousand are inhabited by men (SNA.ii.437; UdA.300).
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 (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
and come to understand the
Four Noble Truths
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones". ,_the_Noble_Eightfold_Path">Four_Noble_Truths:_BUDDHIST_PHILOSOPHY_Encycl_...
,_the_Noble_Eightfold_Path_and_ultimately_realize_the_liberation_from_the_Samsara_(Buddhism).html" ;"title="Noble_Eightfold_Path.html" ;"title="Four Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Encycl ...