Understanding Jambūdvīpa, the central island of Bhū-mandala

All the measurements in the description of Śukadeva Goswami are given in yojanas, an ancient Vedic unit of distance used in Sanskrit texts. The length of the yojana can vary according to the context, but Prabhupāda concludes that the descriptions of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam are based on a yojana of eight miles.Jambūdvīpa is described as being circular in form (round like the leaf of a lotus flower), with a length and breadth of 100,000 yojanas (800,000 miles), as confirmed in SB 5.20.2. It’s difficult to conceive something this size, but just for comparison, the equatorial circumference of our planet is about 24,901 miles, which is about 3,113 yojanas. If we do the math, Jambūdvīpa is 2,547 times larger than the entire surface area of earth!Jambūdvīpa is divided into nine varṣas, or tracts of land, separated by gigantic mountains, whose size is almost inconceivable for us. For example, there are four great mountains surrounding Mount Sumeru (Mandara, Merumandara, Supārśva, and Kumuda), which are 10,000 yojanas, or 80,000 miles high! For comparison, Mount Everest, the highest mountain on our planet, is about 5.5 miles (0.69 yojanas) high. Again, we are speaking about a difference of orders of magnitude. Get full access to Mysteries of the Vedas (Caitanya Chandra Dasa) at www.ccdas.net/subscribe