Dvipa (Sanskrit:द्वीप,lit. 'island',IAST:Dvīpa)[1] is a term inHindu cosmography. ThePuranas describe a dvipa to be one of the seven islands[2] or continents that are present on earth, each of them surrounded by an ocean.[3] The same terminology is also used to refer to the seven regions of the cosmos.[4][5]
In the geocentric model of Hinduism, the seven dvipas are present aroundMount Meru, which is present at the centre ofJambudvipa,[6] the term employed for theIndian subcontinent.[7] Dvipa is also sometimes used to refer to the abodes of deities, such asManidvipa.[8]
The word dvipa is a portmanteau of theSanskrit wordsdvī (two) andapa (water),[9] meaning "having water on two sides".[10] It is cognate with theYoung Avestan 'duuaēpa', which means the same.[11]
According to theMatsya Purana and theBhagavata Purana, the world is divided into seven dvipas, termed as thesapta-dvīpa (the seven islands).[12] TheMahabharata names the following as the seven islands of the world:[13]
Beneath the celestial regions, the earth is arranged in these seven concentric rings of island continents.
Jambudvipa is the innermost of these island continents, shaped like a disc. The earth rests upon the head ofShesha, the cosmic serpent, who is himself supported by the tortoise namedAkupara, who is supported by theAshtadiggajas, the eight celestial elephants that stand on the shell ofBrahmanda.
Plaksha is the second of the ring-shaped continents, surrounded by a sea of sugarcane juice.
Shalmala is the third of the ring-shaped continents, surrounded by a sea of wine.
Kusha is the fourth of the ring-shaped continents, surrounded by a sea of clarified butter (ghee).
Krauncha is the fifth of the ring-shaped continents, surrounded by a sea of curds.
Shaka or Shveta is the sixth of the ring-shaped continents, whose shores are surrounded by a sea of milk.
Pushkara is the seventh of the ring-shaped continents, surrounded by a huge circular sea of freshwater.
Bordering the outermost sea is a land named Lokāloka, which separates the known world from the world of darkness. This realm comprises a range of mountains ten thousandyojanas high. The shell of the cosmic egg known as Brahmanda lies beyond this darkness, cradling all of creation.
O brahmins, there are seven continents viz—Jambū, Plakṣa, Śālmala, Kuśa, Krauñca, Śāka and Puṣkara. These are encircled by seven oceans, the briny ocean, sea of the sugarcane juice, wine, ghee, curds, milk and sweet water.The Jambūdvīpa is situated in the middle. In its centre, O leading brahmins, is the Meru the mountain of gold.
"The "planets" are calleddvīpas. 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 calleddvīpas, or islands in outer space" — Chaitanya Caritamrita Madhya 20.218, Purport
