Sankarṣanāya namah

Idhmajihva, one of the sons of Priyavrata, is the Lord of this Plaksha dweepa (island). He further sub-divided this island into seven smaller islands and divided them between his seven sons. Thereafter he focused his mind entirely upon the Supreme Lord and discarded all worldly transactions. The seven sub-islands of Plaksha are Shiva, Yavasa, Subhadra, Śānta, Kṣema, Amṛta and Abhaya.

Within these 7 islands of Plaksha dweepa there are 7 famous mountains and 7 great rivers. These 7 mountains Manikuṭa, Vajrakuṭa, Indrasena, Jyotiṣmān, Suparṇa, Hiraṇyāṣṭhivā and Meghamāla border these islands. Aruṇa, Nṛmṇā, Angirasi, Sāvitri, Suptabhāta, Rtambharā and Satyambharā are the seven sacred rivers.

Hamsa, Patanga, Ūrdhvāyana and Satyānga are the four castes of people who due to bathing in these sacred rivers wash away their impurities. Traits of passion and ignorance disappear in them. People of this land have a lifespan of 1000 years. Akin to Devatas they are always fresh and beautiful. They do not sweat. They obtain offspring in a manner similar to the Devatas.

When the Sun God is diligently worshipped as stipulated in the Vedas, he rewards the person with heaven. The inhabitants of Plaksha dweepa consider the Sun God to be their inner Self and diligently worship him.

Lord Vishnu is beyond time. He manifests in the form of the Sun galaxy. Duties which are decisively dictated by the Shastras are known as ṛta. The duty which is emphatically delivered through words and body is known as satya.

The inhabitants of this land pray, “Lord Sun is the presiding deity for ṛta, satya, Vedas, death and liberation. We surrender to this Lord and seek refuge under him.” The inhabitants of all the 5 islands governed by Plaksha dweepa are equally blessed with longevity, progeny, mental strength, physical strength, sensory strength, intelligence and prowess.

This Plaksha dweepa is surrounded by an ocean of sugarcane juice which is equal in breadth to it. Beyond this ocean lies the island called Śālmala dweepa which is twice the breadth of Plaksha dweepa. Śālmala dweepa is surrounded by an ocean of liquor which is equal to it in breadth.

On this Śālmala island there is a Śālmali tree (silk cotton) whose dimensions are exactly the same as the Plakśa tree (java fig) located on the Plaksha dweepa. Due to the presence of this tree this island was named Śālmala. Veda chants are the limbs of the Supreme Lord. Garuda, the king of birds, worships Lord Srihari through these Veda mantras. Elders declare that Garuda resides on this Śālmala tree.

Yagnabāhu, the son of Priyavrata, is the Lord for this island. He sub-divided this island into 7 divisions known as Surocana, Soumānasya, Ramaṇaka, Devavarsa, Pāribhadra, Āpyāyana and Avijnāta. He distributed these islands amongst his 7 sons. His sons have the same name as the islands they rule.

Svarasa, Śataśṛnga, Vāmadeva, Kunda, Mukunda, Puṣpavarsa and Sahasra-śruti are the seven mountains in this Śālmala dweepa. Anumati, Sinīvāli, Saraswati, Kuhū, Rajanī, Nanda and Rākā are the seven sacred rivers.

The four castes of inhabitants here are Śṛutidhara, Vīryadhara, Vasundhara and Iṣandhara. They worship the Moon God, who is an embodiment of the Vedas, as their inner Self. They pray-

Sva-gobhiḥ pitṛ-devebhyo vibhajan kṛṣṇa-śuklayoḥ Prajānāṁ sarvāsāṁ rāja- andhaḥ somo na āstv iti

“Through both his waxing and waning rays, the Moon God ensures supply of food to the fore-fathers. He is the king of all the living entities. He is the cause for the bliss experienced. May this Moon God be pleased with us!”

On the other side of the ocean of liquor is a huge island which is twice the breadth of the liquor ocean. This is the Kuśa dweepa. Just as Śālmala dweepa is surrounded by an ocean of liquor this island is surrounded by an ocean of ghee (clarified butter). The Supreme Lord created the Kuśa grass on this island giving it this name. It burns like the second fire and with its tender blades illumines all directions.

Chakra, Catuhśṛṇga, Kapila, Trikūṭa, Devānīkā, Ūrdhvaromā and Draviṇa are the 7 famous mountains that border these islands. Rasakulya, Madhukulya, Mitravindā, Śṛutavindā, Devagarbhā, Ghṛtachyutā and Mantramāla are the 7 sacred rivers that flow here.Kuśalas, Kovidās, Abhiyuktās and Kulakās are the four castes of inhabitants here. They are purified due to bathing in these rivers. They worship the Supreme Lord in his aspect of fire (Agni). They pray,

‘O omniscient, omnipresent Lord of fire! You carry our homa offerings to the Supreme Lord. All the various Devatas are none other than the limbs of the Supreme Lord. Therefore please carry the offerings which we make to the varied Devatas and ensure that it reaches Him.”

Swamiji explains: All these are different types of heavens. We have said that there are innumerable stars, galaxies in the creation. Likewise there are many different heavens which are filled with many mountains, rivers etc. There are innumerable Suns in this creation. Each of these Suns has many other Suns which revolve around it. This creation is vast and cannot be explained in detail. Here we are describing 7 different types of heavens. One heaven succeeds another. Only when we study Bhāgawatam we can describe about these heavens. Om Padmanābhāya namah