How the inhabitants of the dvīpas live and worship
All the inhabitants of the other islands of Bhū-mandala are devotees. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam provides details about their abodes and their form of worship.
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How the inhabitants of the dvīpas live and worship
Instead of trying to find ways to explain the islands and oceans of Bhū-mandala as visible structures around our planet, it is more productive to focus on understanding it as a description of other intermediate planets and how their inhabitants live and worship the Lord. In our gross reality, these planets may be spread around the cosmos, but they somehow appear close together in a higher dimension, forming a mandala-like structure.
In the second and third cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is described how the material universes are originally conceived by Mahā-Viṣnu, who creates them in a subtle form (the primary creation) and then physically built by Brahmā (the secondary creation). In this way, our universe is described as an ordered place created by a superior intelligence with an artistic sense, and not as a chaotic space governed by mechanical forces, as commonly assumed in modern scientific accounts. Seen in this light, the idea of the intermediate planetary system forming a mandala-like structure resembling a cosmic lotus flower does not seem so far-fetched.
“As Sumeru Mountain is surrounded by Jambūdvīpa, Jambūdvīpa is also surrounded by an ocean of salt water. The breadth of Jambūdvīpa is 100,000 yojanas [800,000 miles], and the breadth of the saltwater ocean is the same. As a moat around a fort is sometimes surrounded by gardenlike forest, the saltwater ocean surrounding Jambūdvīpa is itself surrounded by Plakṣadvīpa. The breadth of Plakṣadvīpa is twice that of the saltwater ocean — in other words 200,000 yojanas [1,600,000 miles]. On Plakṣadvīpa there is a tree shining like gold and as tall as the jambū tree on Jambūdvīpa. At its root is a fire with seven flames. It is because this tree is a plakṣa tree that the island is called Plakṣadvīpa. Plakṣadvīpa was governed by Idhmajihva, one of the sons of Mahārāja Priyavrata. He endowed the seven islands with the names of his seven sons, divided the islands among the sons, and then retired from active life to engage in the devotional service of the Lord.” (SB 5.20.2)
Jambūdvīpa forms the center of the mandala, encompassing the varṣas arranged around Mount Sumeru. The central island, Ilāvṛta-varṣa, is just like the structure of filaments surrounding the whorl of a lotus flower, and the other eight varṣas around it (Ketumāla, Bhadraśravā, etc.) are like the first circle of petals. These tracts of land are surrounded by an ocean of salt water, just like the continents of our planet are surrounded by the ocean.
The next level is Plakṣadvīpa, which is named after a gigantic plakṣa tree present there that shines like gold and has seven flames at its roots. Just as in our solar system we have planets of different diameters, starting with small Mercury all the way to giant Jupiter, each of the seven islands has twice the breadth of the previous and is surrounded by an ocean of the same breadth as the island itself.
In this way, we have:
Jambūdvīpa: 100,000 yojanas
Plakṣadvīpa: 200,000 yojanas
Śālmalīdvīpa: 400,000 yojanas
Kuśadvīpa: 800,000 yojanas
Krauñcadvīpa: 1,600,000 yojanas
Śākadvīpa: 3,200,000 yojanas
Puṣkaradvīpa: 6,400,000 yojanas
As Prabhupada explains, each of the islands is formed by several different planets, which include both continents and oceans. If, however, we simplify the model to a simple set of concentric rings to understand the scales, we have a model like this:
In our gross reality, these different planets are spread through the cosmos, but in the higher dimension of the demigods they come together into a universal mandala.
This whole structure of interconnected planets is surrounded by the Loka-loka mountains, which mark the boundaries of the area illuminated by the light of the sun. Beyond that is aloka-varṣa, an uninhabited, dark wasteland that does not receive any light.
A description of the inhabitants of Plakṣadvīpa
Plakṣadvīpa is the second island, surrounding the saltwater ocean of Jambūdvīpa:
“The seven islands [varṣas] are named according to the names of those seven sons — Śiva, Yavasa, Subhadra, Śānta, Kṣema, Amṛta and Abhaya. In those seven tracts of land, there are seven mountains and seven rivers. The mountains are named Maṇikūṭa, Vajrakūṭa, Indrasena, Jyotiṣmān, Suparṇa, Hiraṇyaṣṭhīva and Meghamāla, and the rivers are named Aruṇā, Nṛmṇā, Āṅgirasī, Sāvitrī, Suptabhātā, Ṛtambharā and Satyambharā. One can immediately be free from material contamination by touching or bathing in those rivers, and the four castes of people who live in Plakṣadvīpa — the Haṁsas, Pataṅgas, Ūrdhvāyanas and Satyāṅgas — purify themselves in that way. The inhabitants of Plakṣadvīpa live for one thousand years. They are beautiful like the demigods, and they also beget children like the demigods. By completely performing the ritualistic ceremonies mentioned in the Vedas and by worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead as represented by the sun-god, they attain the sun, which is a heavenly planet.
[This is the mantra by which the inhabitants of Plakṣadvīpa worship the Supreme Lord.] Let us take shelter of the sun-god, who is a reflection of Lord Viṣṇu, the all-expanding Supreme Personality of Godhead, the oldest of all persons. Viṣṇu is the only worshipable Lord. He is the Vedas, He is religion, and He is the origin of all auspicious and inauspicious results.
O King, longevity, sensory prowess, physical and mental strength, intelligence and bravery are naturally and equally manifested in all the inhabitants of the five islands headed by Plakṣadvīpa.” (SB 5.20.3-6)
The island is subdivided into seven varṣas, or tracts of land. It was originally ruled by Idhmajihva, who gave each of the seven islands to one of his sons before retiring into renounced life. The text does not describe a long succession of descendants, but we can presume that they have been passed to a sequence of saintly kings.
Apart from the literal meaning, the names of the sons of Idhmajihva, which also became the names of the seven varṣas that compose Plakṣadvīpa, also have a symbolic meaning, representing auspicious qualities cultivated by the inhabitants of the island through their practice of dharma and Vedic culture, qualities that are supported by the auspiciousness of the land and rivers.
The names of the seven tracts of land are Śiva (auspicious), Yavasa (nourishing), Subhadra (blessed), Śānta (peaceful), Kṣema (prosperous), Amṛta (deathless), and Abhaya (fearless).
These tracts of land are divided by seven great mountains, that add further qualities: Maṇikūṭa (the jewel-like peak), Vajrakūṭa (the peak of invincible strength), Indrasena (the power of Indra), Jyotiṣmān (self-luminous), Suparṇa (divine abode), Hiraṇyaṣṭhīva (overflowing with gold), and Meghamāla (garlanded with clouds, indicating spiritual sublimity).
They are also cut by seven great rivers: Aruṇā (gentle stream, invoking the mode of goodness), Nṛmṇā (noble-minded stream, invoking humility), Āṅgirasī (brahminical purity), Sāvitrī (life-giving, in the sense of spiritual strength), Suptabhātā (reawakening of spiritual consciousness), Ṛtambharā (truth-bearing stream), and Satyambharā (carrier of the absolute truth). Just as the inhabitants of Jambūdvīpa are purified by the Ganges, the text describes that the inhabitants of Plakṣadvīpa become free from material contamination by touching or bathing in those rivers.
The inhabitants of the island are divided into four classes: Haṁsa (the pure), Pataṅga (devotional aspirants), Ūrdhvāyana (ascending transcendentalists), and Satyāṅga (truth-bearers). These four divisions are similar to the divisions of brāhmaṇa–kṣatriya–vaiśya–śūdra of the varnāśrama system, but not as a hierarchical structure. Instead, these divisions resemble the varnāśrama system in its higher purpose, with different classes of transcendentalists cultivating different sets of qualities according to their natural inclinations and cooperating in the service of the Lord. Similar divisions are also found in the other islands.
How to understand that the inhabitants of Plakṣadvīpa are worshipers of the sun-god? The main point of these verses, as emphasized by Śrila Prabhupāda in his purport to text three, is the supremacy of Lord Viṣṇu over different demigods. As in other passages of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, a real place and real people are described to make a philosophical point, helping us to see it through their eyes.
The inhabitants of Plakṣadvīpa worship the sun-god. However, he is not seen as a demigod, but as the Lord Himself. This may sound contradictory, but that’s the proper understanding of passages in the Vedas that recommend the worship of demigods. The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (1.2.1), for example, declares:
tad etat satyam
mantreṣu karmāṇi kavayo yāny apaśyams
tāni tretāyām bahudhā santatāni
tāny ācaratha niyatam satya-kāmāḥ
eṣa vaḥ panthāḥ sukṛtasya loke“Brahman is the Supreme Truth! The original understanding of sacrifice expanded into many forms in Treta-yuga. O great sages anxious to please the Lord, practice sacrifices steadily and regularly, in their original understanding, for the satisfaction of the Lord. This is your path back to Godhead.”
The whole Vedic literature exists with the sole purpose of glorifying the Lord and bringing us to the platform of devotional service to Him. In his commentary to the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.1.5, Madhvācārya explains that during Satya-yuga the Vedas are one. This single and undivided Veda reveals a single ultimate truth: Lord Viṣnu as the Supreme Lord, without a second. All names we now associate with demigods (Indra, Brahmā, Rudra, etc.) apply thus solely to Viṣnu, who is understood as the only deity. This higher understanding of the meaning of the Vedas is also revealed by Vyāsadeva in the Vedanta-sūtra (1.4.28) by the words etena sarve vyākhyātā vyākhyātāḥ, “The Supreme Lord is the original cause of everything. All words of the scriptures should be interpreted according to this explanation.”
Worship of demigods as separate deities, with the goal of obtaining material results, starts in Treta-yuga, when intelligence declines and people manifest the desire for performing fruitive activities. The Vedas are then divided into three: Ṛg, Yajur, and Sāma, and people begin to worship through these divisions by performing Vedic ceremonies. Due to the decline in spiritual focus, the worship of demigods is introduced, and thus the division of aparā-vidyā (lower knowledge, which includes the worship of demigods and material activities) and parā-vidyā (higher knowledge about devotional service and worship of the Lord) inside the Vedas becomes manifest due to people not being able to understand the deeper meaning of the verses.
Inhabitants of Satya-yuga respect the demigods, but not as separate deities. They are seen as guardians, propagators of Vedic knowledge, and as representations or representatives of the Lord. Because during this time there is no worship apart from the worship of the Lord, there is no concept of higher and lower Vedic knowledge. During Satya-yuga, all Vedic knowledge is understood as a direct expression of the absolute truth, with each verse directly describing the Lord. This original understanding is followed by the inhabitants of Plakṣadvīpa and the other great islands of Bhū-mandala.
Still, the idea of worshiping a demigod as Lord Viṣnu may sound strange, as something close to pantheism or impersonalism. It is, however, not like that. Just like we find the Lord residing together with the soul in a human body, similarly the Lord resides in the sun together with Vivasvān, the demigod. Superficially, it may appear that the sun shines because of the potency of the demigod, but in reality, all the potency comes from the Lord, who powers both the demigod and the sun globe. One who is advanced in knowledge therefore sees the Lord residing in the sun. The same applies to the stars and all other luminous objects we see in the sky.
Prabhupāda explains this process of worship in more detail in his purport to text 5.20.5: “As described in this chapter, the inhabitants of the five islands beginning with Plakṣadvīpa worship the sun-god, the moon-god, the fire-god, the air-god and Lord Brahmā respectively. Although they engage in the worship of these five demigods, however, they actually worship Lord Viṣṇu, the Supersoul of all living entities, as indicated in this verse by the words pratnasya viṣṇo rūpam. Viṣṇu is Brahmā, amṛta, mṛtyu — the Supreme Brahmān and the origin of everything, auspicious and inauspicious. He is situated in the heart of everyone, including all the demigods. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.20), kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya devatāḥ: those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto the demigods. People who are almost blind because of lusty desires are recommended to worship the demigods to have their material desires fulfilled, but actually those desires are not fulfilled by the material demigods. Whatever the demigods do is done with the sanction of Lord Viṣṇu. People who are too lusty worship various demigods instead of worshiping Lord Viṣṇu, the Supersoul of all living entities, but ultimately it is Lord Viṣṇu they worship because He is the Supersoul of all demigods.”
This form of indirect worship followed by the inhabitants of these islands, however, does not award the same result as the direct worship of the different forms of the Lord performed by the inhabitants of Jambūdvīpa.
The inhabitants of Plakṣadvīpa live for one thousand years and are beautiful like the demigods. However, they don’t go back to Godhead, attaining the sun at the end of their lives. This type of worship practiced by them (as well as the inhabitants of the other four great islands of Bhū-mandala) is, however, of a much higher grade than the ordinary worship of demigods as independent deities practiced by less intelligent people. Śukadeva Goswami describes thus the opulences they receive in text six (sensory prowess, physical and mental strength, intelligence and bravery) as a way to encourage ordinary worshipers of demigods to move to this higher understanding.
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