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CANONS & SYMBOLISM
[PART IX lotus-shaped islands inhabited by celestial families, which respectively are headed by celestial nymphs named Sri, Hri, Dhști, Kirtti, Buddhi and Lakşmi. Across the seven regions flow in pair, with the first flowing eastwards and the next westwards, fourteen great rivers having thousands of tributaries each.
Dhätaki-khanda, the second continent, is divided into East and West by two mountains running from north to south with the ends touching the high shores of the two oceans Lavana and Käla. Each of the East and the West divisions has all the arrangement as there is in Jambũ, i.e. there are two sets of regions, mountains, Merus, etc. The mountains here run midway between the regions as the spokes in a wheel and the regions are of the shape of open space in the wheel,
Puskara-vara, the third, is the only continent divided into two halves by a circular mountain Mānuşottara running around the continent and called so because human beings are found only up to it. In the inner half, there are, just as in Dhātaki-khanda, two Bharatas, two Himavats, two Merus, etc., whereas, in the outer half and also in the continents onwards there is no division into regions, etc. All this means that human beings reside only in the two-and-a-half continents in the centre of the middle world and also of the cosmos. This also means that there are five scts, each with seven regions, six mountains, fourteen rivers, one Meru, etc.
It is worth mentioning that the Bharatas, Videhas (excluding the Deva-kuru and Uttara-kuru parts) and Airavatas, five each, are the Regions of Labour or karma-bhūmis where one has to adopt any of the six kinds of occupations to lead his life, whereas the Haimavatas, Haris, Deva-kurus, Uttara-Kurus, Ramyakas and Hairanyavatas, five each, are the Regions of Enjoyment or bhoga-bhūmis where the objects of enjoyment are provided by the kalpa-vrksas or desire-fulfilling trees.
Kșira-vara, the fifth ocean, is remarkable for its waters, vesselfuls of which are accustomed to be taken by Indra for the abhişeka or the ceremonial bath of the baby Tirthankara, and wherein is deposited the hair of the Tirthankara after he plucks it out on the occasion of his dikşā or renunciation. Nandiśvara, the eight (below, p. 524), Kundala-vara, the tenth, and Rucakavara, the thirteenth, are known for their akstrima caityålayas (below, p. 526)
1 They are Ganga, Sindhu, Rohita, Rohitäsyä, Harit, Harikāntā, Sita, Sitoda, Näri, Narakanta, Suvarna-kūlā, Rūpya-kala, Rakta and Raktoda.
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