Details about the Vedic universe
Planets are distributed all over the universe, and each planet is different from the other, and has particular opulences and different types of inhabitants.
In the previous article, I spoke about the mystical opulences of Kardama Muni, which he used to build a flying castle for Devahūti. "Castle" in this case is more like a poetic description, since it was in reality more like a gigantic spaceship, as big as a small city, capable of traveling through the universe at a great speed. Normally, human beings are not allowed to visit the celestial planets, much less in a spaceship, but Kardama Muni and Devahūti were able to go there in their own spaceship by dint of their great austerities. One may question how Devahūti became qualified to such an extent, since she was not practicing aṣtānga-yoga, but just assisting her husband. The answer is that through this service, she shared all the results he obtained in his practice. In this way, she became, imperceptibly, as qualified as her husband.
In that palace, they traveled through the planetary systems of Bhu-mandala and Svargaloka, including the different gardens that surround Mount Meru and many other celestial places, and from there, see also saw the higher planetary systems.
"In that aerial mansion he traveled to the pleasure valleys of Mount Meru, which were rendered all the more beautiful by cool, gentle, fragrant breezes that stimulated passion. In these valleys, the treasurer of the gods, Kuvera, surrounded by beautiful women and praised by the Siddhas, generally enjoys pleasure. Kardama Muni also, surrounded by the beautiful damsels and his wife, went there and enjoyed for many, many years.
Satisfied by his wife, he enjoyed in that aerial mansion not only on Mount Meru but in different gardens known as Vaiśrambhaka, Surasana, Nandana, Puṣpabhadraka and Caitrarathya, and by the Mānasa-sarovara Lake.
He traveled in that way through the various planets, as the air passes uncontrolled in every direction. Coursing through the air in that great and splendid aerial mansion, which could fly at his will, he surpassed even the demigods." (SB 3.23.39-42)
Although some great sages like Nārada Muni and the four Kumāras can travel freely through the universe, conditioned souls engaged in fruitive activities, all the way up to the demigods, are restricted in their freedom. Even demigods are mainly restricted to their own planets and can travel to other places only under certain limitations. By the dint of his purity and mystical perfections, however, Kardama Muni could travel through all the universe, without any restriction. Therefore, it is said that he surpassed even the demigods.
In his purport on verse 3.23.43, describing the traveling of Kardama Muni, Prabhupada gives details about the structure of the universe according to the Vedas:
"All the planets are here described as gola, round. Every planet is round, and each planet is a different shelter, just like islands in the great ocean. Planets are sometimes called dvīpa or varṣa. This earth planet is called Bhārata-varṣa because it was ruled by King Bharata. Another significant word used in this verse is bahv-āścaryam, “many wonderful things.” This indicates that the different planets are distributed all over the universe in the eight directions, and each and every one of them is wonderful in itself. Each planet has its particular climatic influences and particular types of inhabitants and is completely equipped with everything, including the beauty of the seasons. In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.40) it is similarly stated, vibhūti-bhinnam: on each and every planet there are different opulences. It cannot be expected that one planet is exactly like another. By God’s grace, by nature’s law, each and every planet is made differently and has different wonderful features."
From here, we get the following pieces of information:
a) Although the different planets are often called dvīpa (island) or varṣa (tract of land), they are spheres floating in space. The usage of the word dvīpa or island is thus metaphorical, alluding to the fact that planets are like islands floating in the ocean of space.
b) The term Bhārata-varṣa refers to our planet, which was ruled by King Bharata.
c) Planets are distributed all over the universe, and each planet is different from the other, and has particular opulences and different types of inhabitants. Each planet has however, conditions especially tailored to the necessities of people living there, and is in this sense complete, because it includes everything necessary for their maintenance.
In his famous letter to Swarupa Damodhara Maharaja from 1977, where he gives his final conclusions about the cosmological model offered in the Vedas, Prabhupada adds the following details:
d) The universe is like a tree, with the roots upwards, with the different planets and stars fixed in their respective orbits.
e) There are different pathways leading from one planet to another. Some are made of made of gold others of copper, etc. These pathways that allow interplanetary travel are like the branches of the tree.
f) The whole tree, with all the planets and stars, rotates around the polestar, the abode of Dhruva Maharaja, every 24 hours. This results in the passage of days and nights.
g) Simultaneously, the sun has its particular orbit, moving up and down, north and south in the sky, resulting in the passage of the seasons.
Modern astronomy uses a heliocentric model to explain the passage of days and nights as well as the seasons. In this model, the sun is in the center and the Earth goes around it. The Vedas explain the universe based on a geocentric model, or, in other words, it explains the movement of the stars and the sun in the sky according to the perspective of someone looking to the sky. The Vedas describe that our planet is part of Bhu-Mandala, a much larger structure that is fixed at the middle of the universe. Bhu-Mandala is very massive and doesn't move; instead, the sun and stars move around it. From the practical point of view, both models work and explain the passage of days and nights, seasons, etc. From the philosophical point of view, however, the model offered in the Vedas is more evolved, because it explains the metaphysical aspects of the universe, while the scientific model explains only the gross material aspects.
Other articles on the Vedic Universe:
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