Dvipa (Sanskrit: द्वीप, lit. 'island', IAST: Dvīpa) is a term in Hindu cosmography. The Puranas describe a dvipa to be one of the seven islands or continents that are present on earth, each of them surrounded by an ocean. The same terminology is also used to refer to the seven regions of the cosmos.
In the geocentric model of Hinduism, the seven dvipas are present around Mount Meru, which is present at the centre of Jambudvipa, the term employed for the Indian subcontinent. Dvipa is also sometimes used to refer to the abodes of deities, such as Manidvipa.
Etymology
The word dvipa is a portmanteau of the Sanskrit words dvī (two) and apa (water), meaning "having water on two sides". It is cognate with the Young Avestan 'duuaēpa', which means the same.
Description
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According to the Matsya Purana and the Bhagavata Purana, the world is divided into seven dvipas, termed as the sapta-dvīpa (the seven islands). The Mahabharata names the following as the seven islands of the world:
| Name | Ocean | Etymology |
|---|---|---|
| Jambudvīpa | Lavaṇoda | Syzygium cumini |
| Plakṣadvīpa | Ikṣurasa | Ficus religiosa |
| Śālmaladvīpa | Suroda | Bombax tree |
| Kuśadvīpa | Ghṛta | Desmotachya bipinnata |
| Krauñcadvīpa | Kṣīroda | The Krauñca hill |
| Śākadvīpa | Dadhi | Teak |
| Puṣkaradvīpa | Jala | Lotus |
The British author Benjamin Walker offers the following description of the dvipas:
Beneath the celestial regions, the earth is arranged in these seven concentric rings of island continents.
- Jambudvipa is the innermost of these island continents, shaped like a disc. The earth rests upon the head of Shesha, the cosmic serpent, who is himself supported by the tortoise named Akupara, who is supported by the Ashtadiggajas, the eight celestial elephants that stand on the shell of Brahmanda.
- Plaksha is the second of the ring-shaped continents, surrounded by a sea of sugarcane juice.
- Shalmala is the third of the ring-shaped continents, surrounded by a sea of wine.
- Kusha is the fourth of the ring-shaped continents, surrounded by a sea of clarified butter (ghee).
- Krauncha is the fifth of the ring-shaped continents, surrounded by a sea of curds.
- Shaka or Shveta is the sixth of the ring-shaped continents, whose shores are surrounded by a sea of milk.
- Pushkara is the seventh of the ring-shaped continents, surrounded by a huge circular sea of freshwater.
Bordering the outermost sea is a land named Lokāloka, which separates the known world from the world of darkness. This realm comprises a range of mountains ten thousand yojanas high. The shell of the cosmic egg known as Brahmanda lies beyond this darkness, cradling all of creation.
Literature
Brahma Purana
The Brahma Purana describes the sapta-dvīpa as such:
O brahmins, there are seven continents viz—Jambū, Plakṣa, Śālmala, Kuśa, Krauñca, Śāka and Puṣkara. These are encircled by seven oceans, the briny ocean, sea of the sugarcane juice, wine, ghee, curds, milk and sweet water. The Jambūdvīpa is situated in the middle. In its centre, O leading brahmins, is the Meru the mountain of gold.
— Chapter 16
Chaitanya Charitamrita
The Bengali text Chaitanya Charitamrita, written c. 1557, describes the concept in the following manner:
"The "planets" are called dvīpas.
Outer space is like an ocean of air.
Just as there are islands in the watery ocean,
these planets in the ocean of space are called dvīpas, or islands in outer space"
— Chaitanya Caritamrita Madhya 20.218, Purport
See also
References
- Hazra, Rajendra Chandra (1975). Studies in the Purāṇic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 81. ISBN 978-81-208-0422-7.
- Sears, M.; Merriman, D. (2012-12-06). Oceanography: The Past: Proceedings of the Third International Congress on the History of Oceanography, held September 22-26, 1980 at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA on the occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the founding of the Institution. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 782. ISBN 978-1-4613-8090-0.
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- Warrier, Shrikala (December 2014). Kamandalu: The Seven Sacred Rivers of Hinduism. MAYUR University. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-9535679-7-3.
- Schnepel, Burkhard; Alpers, Edward A. (2017-10-30). Connectivity in Motion: Island Hubs in the Indian Ocean World. Springer. p. 352. ISBN 978-3-319-59725-6.
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- Thompson, Richard L. (2007). The Cosmology of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa: Mysteries of the Sacred Universe. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 20. ISBN 978-81-208-1919-1.
- Vaan, Michiel de. 2008. Etymological dictionary of Latin and the other Italic languages. Leiden: Brill. p.19.
- Klostermaier, Klaus K. (1994-08-30). A Survey of Hinduism: Second Edition. State University of New York Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-4384-0933-7.
- Mahabharata 6.604
- Walker, Benjamin (2019-04-09). Hindu World: An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism. In Two Volumes. Volume I A-L. Routledge. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-429-62465-0.
- www.wisdomlib.org (2018-03-17). "Seven Continents (sapta-dvīpa) [Chapter 16]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
- Thompson, Richard L. (2004). Vedic Cosmography and Astronomy. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 72. ISBN 978-81-208-1954-2.