Something that can make you question your understanding of the Mahābhārata

Differentiating descriptions of Nāgas, Rākṣasas, and others as supernatural beings coming to earth from space or subterranean realms and descriptions of them as part of earthly kingdoms.

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When we study Vedic cosmology, we learn that we live in Bhārata-varṣa, which in turn is part of Bhū-mandala, the intermediate planetary system. We may not understand very precisely what Bhū-mandala is, or how exactly the model work, but at least we can sleep peacefully understanding that we have our place in the cosmos, which is inhabited by human beings.

This division is explained by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura in his Siddhānta-śiromaṇi. That’s a verse we already know from previous articles:

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 nine khaṇḍas, known as (1) Bhārata, (2) Kinnara, (3) Hari, (4) Kuru, (5) Hiraṇmaya, (6) Ramyaka, (7) Ilāvṛta, (8) Bhadrāśva and (9) Ketumāla. These are different parts of Jambūdvīpa. A valley between two mountains is called a khaṇḍa or varṣa.”

From this, we could deduce that in the model of Bhū-mandala, each varṣa correspond to one planet, and that earth is Bhārata-varṣa. Simple enough.

The problem is that the description continues, and that’s the confusing part:

aindraṁ kaśeru sakalaṁ kila tāmraparṇam
 anyad gabhastimad ataś ca kumārikākhyam
nāgaṁ ca saumyam iha vāruṇam antya-khaṇḍaṁ
 gāndharva-saṁjñam iti bhārata-varṣa-madhye

“Within Bhārata-varṣa, there are nine khaṇḍas. They are known as (1) Aindra, (2) Kaśeru, (3) Tāmraparṇa, (4) Gabhastimat, (5) Kumārikā, (6) Nāga, (7) Saumya, (8) Vāruṇa and (9) Gāndharva.”

Some conclude that these nine khaṇḍas of Bhārata-varṣa are simple different places and continents of the earth, which allows us to maintain our comfortable conclusion of Bhārata-varṣa meaning the earth.

However, when we examine it more carefully, we find that this thesis has inconsistencies.

The Viṣnu Purāṇa (2.2), for example, describes these nine khaṇḍas, and then gives a separate description of the countries that compose our planet, suggesting these are two separate categories.

Another piece of evidence is found in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad. The Gandharvas we normally hear about are the Deva-gandharvas, the celestial musicians who have their planet between the plane of Bhū-mandala and Svargaloka. They are part of the upa-devas, or lower demigods. In the Mahābhārata, Vana-parva, for example, it is described that once the Kauravas were defeated by an army of Deva-gandharvas led by Citrasena. Their army was routed, Karṇa fled, and Duryodhana was captured, being later saved by the five Pāṇḍavas.

There is, however, another species of Gandharvas called Manuṣya-gandharvas. Their standard of living is higher than that of human beings, but much lower than that of the Deva-gandharvas. This hierarchy is explained in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.8.2:

“If we multiply this limit of human bliss a hundred times, it equals the bliss of a Manuṣya-gandharva. If we multiply the bliss of a Manuṣya-gandharva one hundred times, it equals the pleasure of a Deva-gandharva, and if we multiply that one hundred times, it equals the bliss of the ancestors living in Pitṛloka. If we go further and multiply this standard of bliss of the Pitṛs one hundred times, we come to the standard of bliss of a lower demigod born in Svargaloka. Each one of these different standards of bliss is matched by a self-realized soul who has no material desires.”

Where do these Manuṣya-gandharvas live? Such a difference in their standard of living makes it difficult to consider that they live in the same planetary system as the Deva-gandharvas. It makes more sense to map their abode to the Gāndharva division of Bhārata-varṣa.

Similarly, the Nāga division of Bhārata-varṣa appears to be inhabited by a race of human-like Nāgas, while another division is inhabited by human-like Rākṣasas, and so on.

This understanding allows us to reconcile narrations of the Mahābharata that appear to describe Nāgas, Rākṣasas, and others as celestial inhabitants, coming to earth from space or subterranean realms, and other passages that describe them as part of earthly kingdoms.

Ghaṭotkaca, the son of Bhīma, for example, becomes the chief of a race of Rākṣasas, described as kṣatriyas ruling cities and organizing themselves in akṣauhiṇī formations, similar to their human counterparts, despite also possessing supernatural powers. This description makes them substantially different from the Rākṣasas that inhabit the abode of Kuvera in Bhuvarloka. Similarly, there are descriptions of an earthly Nāga kingdom around the forest of Khaṇḍava (close to Hastinapura), and a fight of the Pāṇḍavas against them during the episode of the burning of the forest.

In Vedic cosmology, Nāgas are inhabitants of the lower planetary systems, while the Rakṣasas live in Bhuvarloka. They can visit earth, but have no fixed kingdoms here. When we start from this idea, these descriptions of the Mahābhārata appear contradictory, and the whole text starts sounding mythological. In fact, some conclude that the Mahābhārata simply offers exaggerated descriptions of different tribes from antiquity.

If, however, we accept the idea of races of earthly Nāgas, Gandharvas, Rākṣasas, etc. that are different from their celestial counterparts (closer to human beings), and have their territories in the higher-dimensional Bharata-varṣa inhabited by the Pāṇḍavas, then the whole description makes sense. Some of the passages of the Mahābhārata thus describe interactions with celestial beings, like the fight against the Deva-gandharvas led by Citrasena, while others describe interactions with their counterparts that live in the different khaṇḍas of Bharata-varṣa.

In our case, however, in our current gross reality, we don’t have access to any of these realms, nor do we meet any of these other species. Just as in the case of the other divisions of Bhū-mandala, we don’t have access to their abodes, which appear to be part of a higher-dimensional reality.

It is, therefore, not entirely unreasonable to conclude that these nine divisions of Bhārata-varṣa also constitute different planets, or some form of higher-dimensional space. In this case, the conclusion would be that our planet is just one of the nine divisions of Bhārata-varṣa.

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