Vishnu Puran Second Ansh: The Earth, Bharatavarsha, the Planets and Jada Bharata

The second part describes the cosmography of the Puranas: the earth, its continents, seas, worlds and planets. It should be read not as a modern map but as a symbolic and spiritual picture of the world. It ends with the story of Jada Bharata, one of the deepest teaching stories in the whole Purana.

Chapter 1: Priyavrata and the seven continents

King Priyavrata, son of Svayambhuva Manu, divided the earth into seven continents (dvipas) for his seven sons: Jambu, Plaksha, Shalmali, Kusha, Krauncha, Shaka and Pushkara. Each is encircled by an ocean: of salt water, sugarcane juice, wine, ghee, curd, milk and fresh water.

Chapter 2: Jambudvipa and Meru

Jambudvipa is at the centre, with golden Mount Meru at its heart. It has nine regions (varshas), one of which is Bharatavarsha. Around Meru lie mountains, forests, lakes and the cities of the gods.

Chapter 3: the glory of Bharatavarsha

The land north of the ocean and south of the Himalaya is Bharatavarsha, where the descendants of Bharata live. It has seven great mountain ranges (Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Shuktiman, Riksha, Vindhya and Pariyatra) and many rivers, the Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Narmada, Godavari, Kaveri, Sindhu and more. It is called karma bhumi, the land of action: here, by action, heaven or liberation can be won; other worlds are only for enjoyment.

Gayanti devah kila gitakani dhanyas tu te bharata bhumi bhage
svargapavargaspada marga bhute bhavanti bhuyah purushah suratvat (2.3.24)

Meaning: The gods sing: blessed are those born in the land of Bharata, the path to both heaven and liberation; even gods wish to leave their godhood and be born here again as humans.

Chapter 4: the other continents

The continents from Plaksha to Pushkara are described: their people, lifespans, deities, mountains and rivers. Outermost is the Lokaloka mountain, beyond which is darkness.

Chapters 5 and 6: the nether worlds and the hells

Below the earth lie seven nether worlds, Atala, Vitala, Nitala, Gabhastiman, Mahatala, Sutala and Patala, where daityas, danavas and nagas live in beautiful cities. Below them is Shesha (Ananta), who bears the earth on his hoods and whose qualities no one can finish praising.

Then the hells are described, Raurava, Sukara, Tala, Taptakumbha and others, with the sins that lead to each. There is also a message of hope: after wrongdoing, sincere repentance and remembrance of God are the greatest atonement. Remembering Hari is called the best of all expiations.

Chapter 7: the higher worlds

Above the earth (Bhuloka) are Bhuvarloka, between earth and sun, Svarloka from the sun to the pole star, then Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka and Satyaloka (Brahmaloka). Together they form the cosmic egg, enclosed on every side by sheaths of the elements.

Chapters 8 to 12: the sun, moon and planets

The sun's chariot has one wheel and seven horses, the seven metres, and in each month a different Aditya, sage, gandharva, apsara, yaksha, naga and rakshasa travel with it. The sun's course makes day and night, the northern and southern passages and the seasons. The chariots of the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu are also described.

The stars in the sky are pictured as a Shishumara, a great dolphin-like figure, with the pole star at its tail, and all of it is a form of Vishnu. Seeing and meditating on it is said to remove sin.

Chapters 13 to 16: Jada Bharata

King Bharata, son of Rishabhadeva, after whom Bharatavarsha is named, gave up his kingdom and practised austerities at Shalagrama. One day a pregnant doe, frightened by a lion's roar, leapt into the river; her fawn fell into the water and she died. Compassionate Bharata brought the fawn to his hermitage and raised it. Gradually all his attention went to it, and even at death he was thinking of the deer. Because of that last thought he was reborn as a deer, but kept the memory of his former life and lived detached.

In his next birth he was born in a Brahmin's home. Remembering his mistake, he behaved like a dullard, as if dumb, so that no one would become attached to him, and so was called Jada Bharata. Once he was seized as forced labour to carry the palanquin of the king of Sauvira. He walked haltingly to avoid stepping on small creatures, and the palanquin jolted. The king scolded him: "Are you tired? Your body looks strong enough."

Jada Bharata replied: "Neither am I carrying the palanquin nor are you sitting in it. The palanquin is wood, carried by shoulders, which rest on a body, which rests on feet, which rest on the earth. 'I' am the self, which neither tires nor carries burdens." Astonished, the king stepped down, fell at his feet and asked for knowledge, and Jada Bharata taught him about the self and the Supreme.

Ribhu and Nidagha: to close his teaching Jada Bharata told the story of the sage Ribhu and his disciple Nidagha. Ribhu showed Nidagha that "I" and "you", "king" and "elephant", are distinctions born of ignorance; one self dwells in all. When Nidagha understood this, he saw all beings as himself.

What this part teaches

• Bharat is the land of action; being born here is a great opportunity, not to be wasted.
• The whole universe, from the sun to the pole star, is a form of the one God.
• Compassion is good, but attachment binds; Bharata's story shows this.
• We are not the body but the self; this understanding removes both pride and discrimination.