Visnu Das Inquiry and Mayesvara Reply

And how do we understand this..

CC Madhya 20.218


ei-mata brahmāṇḍa-madhye sabāra ‘parakāśa’
sapta-dvīpe nava-khaṇḍe yāṅhāra vilāsa


Word for word:


ei-mata — in this way; brahmāṇḍa-madhye — within this universe; sabāra — of all of Them; parakāśa — manifestations; sapta-dvīpe — on seven islands; nava-khaṇḍe — in different sections, nine in number; yāṅhāravilāsa — the pastimes of whom.


Translation:


“Within the universe the Lord is situated in different spiritual manifestations. These are situated on seven islands in nine sections. Thus Their pastimes are going on.


Purport:
The seven islands are mentioned in the Siddhāntaśiromaṇi:

bhūmer ardhaṁ kṣāra-sindhor udak-sthaṁ
jambu-dvīpaṁ prāhur ācārya-varyāḥ
ardhe ’nyasmin dvīpa-ṣaṭkasya yāmye
kṣāra-kṣīrādy-ambudhīnāṁ niveśaḥ

śākaṁ tataḥ śālmalam atra kauśaṁ
krauñcaṁ ca gomedaka-puṣkare ca
dvayor dvayor antaram ekam ekaṁ
samudrayor dvīpam udāharanti

The seven islands (dvīpas) are known as (1) Jambu, (2) Śāka, (3) Śālmalī, (4) Kuśa, (5) Krauñca, (6) Gomeda, or Plakṣa, and (7) Puṣkara. The planets are called dvīpas. Outer space is like an ocean of air. Just as there are islands in the watery ocean, these planets in the ocean of space are called dvīpas, or islands in outer space. There are ninekhaṇḍas, known as (1) Bhārata, (2) Kinnara, (3) Hari, (4) Kuru, (5) Hiraṇmaya, (6) Ramyaka, (7) Ilāvṛta, ( Bhadrāśva and (9) Ketumāla. These are different parts of Jambudvīpa. A valley between two mountains is called akhaṇḍa or varṣa.



Vishnu Prabhu, if they were islands in the ocean of air, there would be a description of the space between them. For example, the distance in outer space between the planets is stated in chapter 22. This is not the case for the dwipas and oceans on bhu-mandala which are described as forming one continuous plane. Unlike planets such as the sun and moon, which are separated by an ocean of space, these seven islands and oceans are resting on the bhu-mandala plane, not floating in space, or separated from one another by empty space. They simply form a continual plane across the center of the universe. Thus the description reads that after crossing Jambudwipa one comes to Plakshadwipa which is 1,600,000 miles in breadth. Then after crossing the Iksha ocean which is a further 1,600,000 miles wide, one eventually comes to Shalmalidwipa which is 3,200,000 miles wide. In this way, the seven islands and oceans form one continual plane with no mention of space between them. For comparison, think of crossing our own continents and oceans: from American one crosses the Atlantic ocean and comes to Europe; after crossing Europe and South East Asia, one crosses the Indian Ocean and comes to Australia. These are all on the same plane with no 'outer-space' in-between. Likewise, the seven islands and oceans of Bhu-mandala form a continual plane. They are not described as islands floating in space. They are described as the features and varieties of the bhu-mandala plane. It must be remembered that Bhu-mandala is the 'earthy substance' upon which this whole landscape is resting. Bhu-mandala is not some nebulous feature in outer space. It is literally the solid 'Earthy' realm. It has substance, weight, etc. Ananta Sesa holds it on His head. Think of a round table supporting household objects. From the substance of this earthy plane, Priyavrata Maharaja made the seven islands and oceans:




Comment by Vijayadhvaja Tirtha




Inline image 1




Comment by Srivamsidhara




Inline image 2





Comment by Giridhari Lala:




Inline image 3





So Bhu-mandala has substance. It is the Earthy platform upon which rest the inhabitants on their respective islands. Thus I was pointing out the formless impersonal nature of the previous animation depicting Bhu-mandala.




Sukadeva and the acharyas describe the plane of Bhu-mandala beginning with the central island of Jambudwipa, then gradually moving out across the vast expanse of land. They are describing land (Bhu/Earth), not space. And certainly not describing NASA's space ball. All that has happened is the words bhu-mandala and bhu-gola were mistakenly translated as Earth globe, and in one stroke, the real Earth was disappeared.




Y.S Mayesvara



On Thu, Jun 23, 2016 at 6:14 PM, Krishnaland <krishnaland@gmail.com> wrote:


And how do we understand this..




CC Madhya 20.218








ei-mata brahmāṇḍa-madhye sabāra ‘parakāśa’
sapta-dvīpe nava-khaṇḍe yāṅhāra vilāsa


Word for word:


ei-mata — in this way; brahmāṇḍa-madhye — within this universe; sabāra — of all of Them; parakāśa — manifestations; sapta-dvīpe — on seven islands; nava-khaṇḍe — in different sections, nine in number; yāṅhāravilāsa — the pastimes of whom.


Translation:


“Within the universe the Lord is situated in different spiritual manifestations. These are situated on seven islands in nine sections. Thus Their pastimes are going on.


Purport:



The seven islands are mentioned in the Siddhāntaśiromaṇi:

bhūmer ardhaṁ kṣāra-sindhor udak-sthaṁ
jambu-dvīpaṁ prāhur ācārya-varyāḥ
ardhe ’nyasmin dvīpa-ṣaṭkasya yāmye
kṣāra-kṣīrādy-ambudhīnāṁ niveśaḥ

śākaṁ tataḥ śālmalam atra kauśaṁ
krauñcaṁ ca gomedaka-puṣkare ca
dvayor dvayor antaram ekam ekaṁ
samudrayor dvīpam udāharanti

The seven islands (dvīpas) are known as (1) Jambu, (2) Śāka, (3) Śālmalī, (4) Kuśa, (5) Krauñca, (6) Gomeda, or Plakṣa, and (7) Puṣkara. The planets are called dvīpas. Outer space is like an ocean of air. Just as there are islands in the watery ocean, these planets in the ocean of space are called dvīpas, or islands in outer space. There are ninekhaṇḍas, known as (1) Bhārata, (2) Kinnara, (3) Hari, (4) Kuru, (5) Hiraṇmaya, (6) Ramyaka, (7) Ilāvṛta, ( Bhadrāśva and (9) Ketumāla. These are different parts of Jambudvīpa. A valley between two mountains is called akhaṇḍa or varṣa.