Jaina Philosophy Historical Outline

Author(s): Narendra Nath Bhattacharya
Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publisher's Pvt Ltd New Delhi

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144 Jain Philosophy in Historical Outline
Each mountain range has a number of peaks. The Himavat and the Sikharin contain eleven and the rest nine peaks each. Every mountain has at its first or eastern summit a temple known as Siddhāyatana or Siddhakūta, and that of the Himavat is 50 Yojanās long, 50 broad and 35 high, and taking this as the unit of measurement the area of other Siddhāyatanas can easily be calculated according to the process mentioned above. Every mountain has in its middle a vast lake and that which lies in the middle of the Himavat is known as Pauma or Padma. Its length is 100 Yojanas breadth 500 and depth 10, the banks made of silver, the surrounding wall, of diamonddecked stone, and the bottom of gold. In the middle of the lake rises up a big lotus, one Yojana in diameter, which is the abode of the goddess Sri. Around it there are several lotus rings.
The Jambudvīpa is watered by 14 big rivers. Of these the Gangā, the the Sindhu and the Rohita flow from the aforesaid Padma lake on mount Himavat, the Rohitāmśā and the Harikrāntā from the Mahāpadma lake on the Mahāhimavat, the Haritā and the Sitodā from the Tingiccha lake on the Nişadha, the Sitä and the Nāri from the Kesarin like on the Nīla, the Narakāntā and the Rūpyakūlā from the Mahapun darika lake on the Rukmin, and the Suvarnakūlā, the Raktā and the Raktodā from the Pundarīka like on the Sikharin. The courses all the rivers are similar. The Jain writers who apparently depended on the Puranic conception of Jambudvipa held that it was divided into seven Varşas which were Bharata (not Bhārata), Airāvata, Haimavata, Hari, Hiranyavata, Ramyaka and Videha. Airavata, the central town of which is Vidyadhara and which is watered by the Raktā and Raktodā, stands next to Bharata, if viewed from the southern corner of the Jambudvipa. Haimavata, watered by the Rohitā and Rohitāmśā, lies to the north of Himavat. Its central mountain is called Sabdāpati. Hairanyavata, the central mountain of which is Malayavat or Mālavanta and which is watered by the Suvarņakūlā and Rūpyakūļā, lies to the south of the śikharin. Harivarsa also contains a mountain called Vikatapati and it is watered by the Haritā and Harikrāntā. Likewise in the centre or the Ramyaka Varsa is situated the mountain called Gandhāpati and it is watered by the Narakāntā and Nāri. The middle most and the biggest Varşa is Videha at the centre of which stands Mount Meru or Mandara, which has 16 names. To the north of Meru, between the Gandhamādana and Malayavat is the Uttarakuru country and to the south, between the Saumanasa and Vidyutprabha is Devakuru. To the east of Meru lies Purvavideha and, to the west, Aparavideha.