Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 5 Chapter 19 Verses 29-30

Canto 5: The Creative Impetus | Chapter 19: A Description of the Island of Jambūdvīpa

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.19.29-30

śrī-śuka uvāca

jambūdvīpasya ca rājann upadvīpān aṣṭau haika upadiśanti sagarātmajair aśvānveṣaṇa imāḿ mahīḿ parito nikhanadbhir upakalpitān; tad yathā svarṇaprasthaś candraśukla āvartano ramaṇako mandarahariṇaḥ pāñcajanyaḥ siḿhalo lańketi

SYNONYMS

śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued to speak; jambūdvīpasya — of the island known as Jambūdvīpa; ca — also; rājan — O King; upadvīpān aṣṭau — eight subordinate islands; ha — certainly; eke — some; upadiśanti — learned scholars describe; sagara-ātma-jaiḥ — by the sons of Mahārāja Sagara; aśva-anveṣaṇe — while trying to find their lost horse; imām — this; mahīm — tract of land; paritaḥ — all around; nikhanadbhiḥ — digging; upakalpitān — created; tat — that; yathā — as follows; svarṇa-prasthaḥ — Svarṇaprastha; candra-śuklaḥ — Candraśukla; āvartanaḥ — Āvartana; ramaṇakaḥ — Ramaṇaka; mandara-hariṇaḥ — Mandara-hariṇa; pāñcajanyaḥ — Pāñcajanya; siḿhalaḥ — Siḿhala; lańkā — Lańkā; iti — thus.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, in the opinion of some learned scholars, eight smaller islands surround Jambūdvīpa. When the sons of Mahārāja Sagara were searching all over the world for their lost horse, they dug up the earth, and in this way eight adjoining islands came into existence. The names of these islands are Svarṇaprastha, Candraśukla, Āvartana, Ramaṇaka, Mandara-hariṇa, Pāñcajanya, Siḿhala and Lańkā.

PURPORT

In the Kūrma Purāṇa there is this statement about the desires of the demigods:

anadhikāriṇo devāḥ

svarga-sthā bhāratodbhavam

vāñchanty ātma-vimokṣārtha-

mudrekārthe 'dhikāriṇaḥ

Although the demigods are situated in exalted positions in the heavenly planets, they nevertheless desire to descend to the land of Bhārata-varṣa on the planet earth. This indicates that even the demigods are unfit to reside in Bhārata-varṣa. Therefore if persons already born in Bhāratavarṣa live like cats and dogs, not taking full advantage of their birth in this land, they are certainly unfortunate.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness