Tattvartha Sutra

SR No.: 001934
Original Sutra Author: Umaswati, Umaswami
Author: Manu Doshi
Publisher: Shrutratnakar Ahmedabad
Publication Year: 2005
Total Pages: 138
Language: English, Sanskrit
Classification: Book_English, Philosophy, Tattvartha Sutra, Tattvartha Sutra, & Tattvarth
File Size: 12 MB

Page 249

JAIN CONCEPTS OF GEOGRAPHY AND COSMOLOGY 235 miles remain beyond our sight? In the above description Ganga and Sindhu are said to have a width of 62.5 Yojans at their mouths. That much width of Ganga is collaborated by Jnatadharmakathang, the sixth Agam. Its chapter 16 relates to the story of Draupadi. It is said therein that Shrikrishna had to cross 62.5 Yojans width of Ganga. There is thus no possibility of error in stipulating that width. At the rate of 8 miles a Yojan, that works out to a width of 500 miles, which is inconceivable. If we take the maximum width of Ganga near its mouth as five miles, the above-said size turns out to be 100 times higher. We can believe that the ancient seers could not have measured the length of Ganga and might have guessed about it. But how could they go wrong about the width? The size of Tamisra and Khandprapata сaves in Vaitadhya provides another example of the exaggerated dimensions. Those caves are supposed to be 12 Yojans wide. At the rate of 8 miles a Yojan, that works out to 96 miles. Can a gap of that size be termed as a cave? Even a 1000th part of that size works out to more than 500 feet, which would be too wide to be termed a cave. The size of Ayodhya сity provides one more illustration. That city is said to have a length of 12 Yojans and breadth of 9 Yojans. At the rate of 8 miles a Yojan its area works out to 96 x 72 = 6912 sq. miles. Even if we assume that it was the largest city in ancient India, the size of 6912 sq. miles is inconceivable. That is worth comparing with 321 sq. miles of New York, 185 sq. miles of Chicago and 239 sq. miles of Mumbai. There is one more illustration that leads to the same conclusion. It relates to 14471.32 Yojans east-west length of Bharat Kshetra. That length works out to 115770 miles, which is inconceivably long. One/ 100th part of that length could make sense, as it would come close to the actual length of Indo-Ganga plain.