Tattvartha Sutra

Author(s): Umaswati, Umaswami, Manu Doshi
Publisher: Shrutratnakar Ahmedabad

Page 71

MADHYALOK JAIN CONCEPT OF GEOGRAPHY
and rivers bearing the same names as those in Jamboodweep. There is a mountain range running across the entire width of Pushkarvardweep. That divides it into two parts, the part facing Kälodadhi is considered the inner part and the other one the outer part. The inner part contains as many continents and mountains as Dhatakikhand. The said mountain range covers the outer part like a fortress and is known as Mänushottar Parvat meaning the mountain that limits the human habitation. The human beings are not born beyond that barrier. Human habitation is thus restricted to Jamboodweep, Dhatakikhand and inner half of Pushkarvardweep. Those two and a half landmasses are collectively known as Adheedweep (See figure 3). The human beings residing there are either Äryans or Mlechchhas.
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Madhyalok does not end with Pushkarvardweep. That Dweep is surrounded by the Pushkar sea, which is surrounded by Varunvardweep and Varunvar sea, which is again surrounded by Ksheerdweep and Ksheersamudra (The milky sea; the bathing ceremony of a newly born Tirthankar is performed with milky liquid brought from it). Beyond the milky sea also there are many more masses of land and sea alternating one another, each of them being ring shaped and having twice the size of the preceding ring. The last land mass is called Swayambhooramandweep, which is surrounded by the Swayambhooraman sea.
As mentioned above, there are two sets of seven continents and six mountain ranges in Dhatakikhand, bearing the same names as those in Jamboodweep. Similarly, there are other two sets in inner half of Pushkarvardweep. Thus there are, in all, five sets of Bharat, Haimvat, Hari, Videh, Ramyak,