Another take on the mysterious commentary by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Understanding the commentary of Viśvanātha Cakravartī on the structure of the cosmological model of Śrimad Bhagavatam.
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After my tentative translation of the commentary of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura some time ago, I decided to work some more on the text to fix some incongruences. This is a really challenging piece, especially in the context of the details given by Prabhupada in the 5th canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam. The terminology is difficult, the logic appears impenetrable, and the numbers appear to not add up.
In this updated translation and commentary, I show how the text comes to the same numbers Prabhupada gives and how it reveals the geometric precision in the dimensions of Bhū-mandala, yet another proof of the existence of an intelligent creator.
This text appears in Prabhupada’s purport to SB 5.20.38, where Śrila Prabhupāda quotes it without giving a translation. Maybe that’s because it explains points that he already mentions in his translation of other verses, or maybe because it is very technical. In any case, it adds to the mystique of the 5th canto of Śrimad Bhagavatam:
What does it mean?
sa tu lokālokas tu bhū-golakasya bhū-sambandhāṇḍa-golakasyety arthaḥ; sūryasy eva bhuvo ’py aṇḍa-golakayor madhya-vartitvāt kha-golam iva bhū-golam api pañcāśat-koṭi-yojana-pramāṇaṁ tasya turīya-bhāgaḥ sārdha-dvādaśa-koṭi-yojana-vistārocchrāya ity arthaḥ bhūs tu catus-triṁśal-lakṣonapañcāśat-koṭi-pramāṇā jñeyā;
“Here, Lokāloka is related to the bhū-golaka and the aṇḍa-golaka. Because both the sun and the earth are situated in the vertical middle of the universe, the area occupied by Bhū-mandala, just like the celestial domain (kha-gola) spreads for 50 koṭi yojanas (500,000,000 yojanas). One quarter of this is twelve-and-a-half koṭi yojanas (125,000,000 yojanas). However, the whole Bhū-mandala should be known as having the measure of 50 koṭi minus 34 lakṣas yojanas (496,600,000 yojanas).”
The word bhū-golaka indicates Bhū-mandala, and aṇḍa-golaka refers to cosmic egg-sphere, or the inner boundary of the universal covering, that functions as the barrier-limit of the universe. The Lokāloka mountains are the border between the inhabited areas of the universe and the uninhabited part. Kha-gola means the celestial domain, or Svargaloka, which is positioned just above Bhū-mandala.
The value of 500,000,000 yojanas is given in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam as the total breadth of the internal area of the universe. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, however, argues that Bhū-mandala is slightly smaller than that, as he will explain.
If taken literally, the term “bhū-golaka” can be translated as “the earth-globe”. However, in the context, it doesn’t mean Earth in the sense of our planet, but Bhū-mandala, the extended earth described in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. This understanding is reinforced by the term “gola” being used to also describe Svargaloka, which is a planetary system, rather than a single globe. In SB 5.20.38, Prabhupāda translates “bhū-golasya” as “of the planetary system known as Bhūgolaka,” reinforcing the meaning of the term as a planetary system composed of multiple globes, and not as a single globe. Logic shows that this is the correct interpretation, since Viśvanātha’s text describes that bhū-golaka is situated in the vertical middle of the universe, under Svargaloka, and has a diameter of 496.6 million yojanas. Taken bhū-golaka as a globe, the description makes no sense.
It is also important to emphasize that “gola” can also be translated as “round” or “circle”, which appears more appropriate in the context. Bhū-golaka can be thus translated as “the earthly circle” or as “the earthly domain”, describing Bhū-mandala, and kha-gola as “the celestial circle” or celestial domain, describing Svargaloka. Aṇḍa-golaka thus describes the circumference of the internal boundary of the coverings of the universe around both.
yathā meru-madhyān mānasottara-madhya-paryantaṁ sārdha-sapta-pañcāśal-lakṣottara-koṭi-yojana-pramāṇam; mānasottara-madhyāt svādūdaka-samudra-paryantaṁ ṣaṇ-ṇavati-lakṣa-yojana-pramāṇaṁ tataḥ kāñcanī-bhūmiḥ sārdha-sapta-pañcāśal-lakṣottara-koṭi-yojana-pramāṇā evam ekato meru-lokālokayor antarālam ekādaśa-śal-lakṣādhika-catuṣ-koṭi-parimitam anyato ’pi tatha
“The individual distances are as follows: The distance from the middle of Meru up to the middle of Mānasottara is 1 koṭi plus 57½ lakṣas (15,750,000 yojanas). Then, the distance from the middle of Mānasottara to the ocean of sweet-water is 96 lakṣas (9,600,000 yojanas). Then, the breadth of the golden land is again 1 koṭi plus 57½ lakṣas (15,750,000 yojanas). Thus, the total distance comes to 4 koṭis plus 11 lakṣas (41,100,000 yojanas) and the measure of the opposite side is the same.”
The distance from the middle of Mānasottara mountain up to the end of the ocean of sweet water is 9,600,000 yojanas, which is followed by the inhabited tract of land beyond it (mentioned in ŚB 5.20.35), which measures 15,750,000 yojanas more. In this way, the total distance between Meru and the end of the inhabited part of the universe comes to 41,100,000 yojanas (15,750,000 + 9,600,000 + 15,750,000).
In his translation of SB 5.20.35, Prabhupāda mentions: “Beyond the ocean of sweet water is a tract of land as broad as the area between the middle of Mount Sumeru and the boundary of Mānasottara Mountain. In that tract of land there are many living beings. Beyond it, extending to Lokāloka Mountain, is another land, which is made of gold. Because of its golden surface, it reflects light like the surface of a mirror, and any physical article that falls on that land can never be perceived again. All living entities, therefore, have abandoned that golden land.”
Here, Prabhupāda concludes that the last of the seven islands of Bhū-mandala is divided into two parts: one inhabited, and another, uninhabited. The description of Prabhupāda of the inhabited land beyond the ocean of sweet water matches the golden land of 15,750,000 yojanas mentioned here by Viśvanātha Cakravartī.
tyeto lokālokāl loka-paryantaṁ sthānaṁ dvāviṁśati-lakṣottarāṣṭa-koṭi-parimitaṁ lokālokād bahir apy ekataḥ etāvad eva anyato ’py etāvad eva yad vakṣyate, yo ’ntar-vistāra etena hy aloka-parimāṇaṁ ca vyākhyātaṁ yad-bahir lokālokācalād
“The next expanse of land, reaching as far as Lokāloka, has a measure of 8 koṭis plus 22 lakṣas (82,200,000 yojanas). The land beyond Lokāloka, extends for exactly the same as on the other side, and on the opposite side, again we have the same amount. Thus, since the measurement of the inner size is given, the breadth of Aloka-varṣa, which lies outside the Lokāloka mountain, can also be understood.”
Prabhupāda mentions in SB 5.20.35 that beyond the ocean of sweet water, there is a large tract of inhabited land, as broad as the area between Mount Sumeru and Mānasottara Mountain. Beyond it, there is a golden land, extending to Lokāloka Mountain.
The land with a breadth of 15,750,000 yojanas mentioned in the previous passage matches the inhabited area, and the larger land of 82,200,000 yojanas extending up to the Lokāloka mountains matches the uninhabited land mentioned by Prabhupāda. There is some apparent divergence centered on the interpretation of the words bhūmiḥ kāñcanī in SB 5.20.35 (Viṣvanātha appears to attribute it to the inhabited area, and Prabhupada to the uninhabited area around it), but it is clear that the two explanations describe the same model.
As previously stated, the inhabited part goes for 15,750,000 yojanas, and then there are 82,200,000 yojanas more of the uninhabited land that extends up to the Lokāloka mountains. Total, thus, comes to 123,300,000 yojanas in the calculation given.
With this, we have 41,100,000 yojanas for the inhabited part of the universe, plus 82,200,000 yojanas for the breadth of uninhabited golden land, to a total of 123,300,000 yojanas. After the boundary of Lokāloka, we have another area of the same breadth, which corresponds to Aloka-varṣa, the dark, uninhabited area of the universe that extends up to the border of Bhū-mandala.
On the other side of Mount Sumeru, we have the same distance to the opposite side, multiplying this total by two.
ity ekato lokālokaḥ sārdha-dvādaśa-koṭi-yojana-parimāṇaḥ anyato ’pi sa tathety evaṁ catus-triṁśal-lakṣonapañcāśat-koṭi-pramāṇā bhūḥ sābdhi-dvīpa-parvatā jñeyā
“Thus, twelve-and-a-half koṭi (125,000,000 yojanas) is the total measure up to Lokāloka, and from the other side also the same. In this way, the total measure of Bhū-mandala, with all its oceans, islands, and mountains, should be understood as measuring 50 koṭi minus 34 lakṣas yojanas (496,600,000 yojanas).”
Twelve-and-a-half koṭi (125,000,000 yojanas) is the value mentioned in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam for a quarter of the total diameter of the universe. The total diameter is thus 500,000,000 yojanas. Śrila Viśvanātha Cakravartī’s thesis, however, is that Bhū-mandala is slightly smaller than the total diameter of the universe, extending for 496,600,000 yojanas. This leaves a small portion of empty space between the border of Bhū-mandala and the covering of the universe, which he explains later on.
One valid question at this point is that, following the previous calculation, we come to a total of 123,300,000 yojanas from Sumeru to the end of the uninhabited land. If we add the same for the other side of Lokāloka, and then multiply the total by two (adding the other side from Mount Sumeru), we come to 493,200,000 yojanas, which is different from the value of 496,600,000 yojanas given in Viśvanātha’s commentary.
From where does this difference come? The text does not explicitly explain, but we can infer it from the details mentioned.
The commentary mentions that 123,300,000 yojanas is the distance up to Lokāloka (lokāloka-paryantam sthānam); it does not include the mountain itself.
What is then the breadth of this cosmic barrier? Some interpret the words as meaning that Lokāloka mountain in itself has a breadth of 123,300,000 yojanas, going all the way to the border of Bhū-mandala. However, the text mentions “lokālokāt bahiḥ” which means outside Lokāloka, or beyond the boundary, and not within the mountain. This is reinforced by SB 5.20.36: lokāloka iti samākhyā yad anenācalena lokālokasyāntarvar-tināvasthāpyate, “Between the lands inhabited by living entities and those that are uninhabited stands the great mountain which separates the two and which is therefore celebrated as Lokāloka.”
Therefore, according to the text, we have 123,300,000 yojanas before Lokāloka and 123,300,000 yojanas after it, and then the same on the other side of Sumeru. Considering that after mentioning this, the verse states that the total diameter is 496,600,000 yojanas, the logical conclusion is that the difference corresponds to the breadth of the Lokāloka barrier in itself.
We thus have 123,300,000 yojanas from Sumeru to Lokāloka, then 1,700,000 yojanas of the barrier itself, and 123,300,000 yojanas more on the other side (aloka-varṣa), bringing the total to 248,300,000 yojanas. We then have the same on the other side of Sumeru, bringing the final total to 496,600,000 yojanas, which is the same number he gives.
What about the figure of 125,000,000 yojanas? Viśvanātha’s commentary mentions that “twelve-and-a-half koṭi (125,000,000 yojanas) is the total measure up to Lokāloka, and from the other side also the same.” How does it connect to the numbers given?
125,000,000 yojanas is the total distance from Sumeru up to the end of Lokāloka (123,300,000 + 1,700,000). If we start from the border of Bhū-mandala and go to the other side of Lokāloka, we have again the same. This kind of beautiful symmetry again proves that the universe didn’t appear by chance.
ata evāṇḍa-golakāt sarvato dikṣu sapta-daśa-lakṣa-yojanāvakāśe vartamāne sati pṛthivyāḥ śeṣa-nāgena dhāraṇaṁ dig-gajaiś ca niścalī-karaṇaṁ sārthakaṁ bhaved anyathā tu vyākhyāntare pañcāśat-koṭi-pramāṇatvād aṇḍa-golaka-lagnatve tat tat sarvam akiñcit-karaṁ syāt cākṣuṣe manvantare cākasmāt majjanaṁ śrī-varāha-devenotthāpanaṁ ca durghaṭaṁ syād ity adikaṁ vivecanīyam.
“Therefore, there is an open space of 17 lakṣas (1,700,000 yojanas) within the aṇḍa-golaka on all sides. Understanding that, the description of Bhū-mandala being held by Śeṣanāga and balanced by the directional elephants becomes meaningful. Otherwise, if we take the measure as exactly fifty koṭis (500,000,000 yojanas) with Bhū-mandala being fixed to the covering, this description would be pointless. Another point is that the account of Bhū-mandala sinking and being lifted up by Śrī Varāhadeva would be difficult to explain without this being considered.”
Aṇḍa-golaka means the cover of the universe. He argues that Bhū-mandala doesn’t extend all the way to the covering, leaving a small gap. This gap explains how Bhū-mandala can submerge into the causal ocean and be rescued by Varāhadeva, and the necessity of the four universal elephant-deities balancing it. As he argues, without this gap, these descriptions would not make sense. Not by chance, this gap is of the same breadth as Lokāloka, again proving that the universe didn’t appear by chance.
1,700,000 yojanas on all sides means we have 1,700,000 yojanas on one side of Bhū-mandala and 1,700,000 more on the other side. 496,600,000 yojanas plus two times 1,700,000 amounts to exactly 500,000,000, the number given in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam for the total diameter of the universe.
Here are two tables that make it easy to follow the calculations given by him:
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The breadth of the different islands and oceans:
Jambūdvīpa: 100,000 yojanas (same for the saltwater ocean)
Plakṣadvīpa: 200,000 yojanas (same for the sugarcane-juice ocean)
Śālmalīdvīpa: 400,000 yojanas (same for the liquor ocean)
Kuśadvīpa: 800,000 yojanas (same for the oil ocean)
Krauñcadvīpa: 1,600,000 yojanas (same for the milk ocean)
Śākadvīpa: 3,200,000 yojanas (same for the yogurt ocean)
Puṣkaradvīpa: 6,400,000 yojanas (same for the sweet-water ocean)
Inhabited land beyond the sweet water ocean: 15,750,000 yojanas
The Golden land: 82,200,000 yojanas
Aloka-varṣa: 123,300,000 yojanas
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Cumulative distances from Mount Sumeru to the outer edge of the different lands and oceans:
Sumeru > Jambūdvīpa: 50,000 yojanas (half of the diameter of the island, since Sumeru is in the middle)
Sumeru > Saltwater ocean: 150,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Plakṣadvīpa: 350,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Sugarcane-juice ocean: 550,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Śālmalīdvīpa: 950,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Liquor ocean: 1,350,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Kuśadvīpa: 2,150,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Oil ocean: 2,950,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Krauñcadvīpa: 4,550,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Milk ocean: 6,150,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Śākadvīpa: 9,350,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Yogurt ocean: 12,550,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Puṣkaradvīpa: 18,950,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Sweet-water ocean: 25,350,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Inhabited land beyond the sweet water ocean: 41,100,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Uninhabited land: 123,300,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Lokāloka: 125,000,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Aloka-varṣa: 248,300,000 yojanas
Sumeru > Border of the universe: 250,000,000 yojanas
Total diameter of Bhū-mandala: 496,600,000 yojanas
Open space: 1,700,000 yojanas on both sides
Total diameter of the universe: 500,000,000 yojanas.
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