Four Continents

Four Continents (gling bzhi)

• According to traditional Indian Buddhist cosmology, the world has Mount Sumeru as its central axis, surrounded by seven concentric oceans, which are endowed with all the qualities of pure water, and divided from one another by seven successive golden mountain ranges: Yugandhara, ?Iṣadhāra, Khadirika, Sudarśana, Aṣvakarṇa, Vinataka, and Nimindhara. The entire world is girded by a perimeter of iron mountains known as the Cakravāla. In each of the four cardinal directions of Mount Sumeru, there is located a continent, along with two satellites or sub-continents. Among these, the eastern continent Viratdeha (lus 'phags; "sublime in body") is semi-circular, the life-span of its inhabitants is 250 years, and it has two subcontinents: Deha (lus) and Videha (lus 'phags).. The southern continent Jambudvīpa ('dzam bu gling; "rose-apple continent") is triangular, and the lifespan of its inhabitants ranges from infinity to ten years in the course of an aeon. Its two subcontinents are Cāmara (rnga yab) and Aparacāmara (rnga yab gzhan). The western continent, Aparagodānīya (ba lang spyod; "rich in cattle") is circular, the lifespan of its inhabitants is 500 years, and its two subcontinents are Śāṭhā (g.yo ldan) and Uttaramantriṇa (lam mchog 'gro). Lastly, the northern continent Uttarakuru (sgra mi snyan; "unpleasant sound") is square, the lifespan of its inhabitants is one thousand years, and its two subcontinents are Kurava (sgra mi snyan) and Kaurava (sgra mi snyan gyi zla). For a fuller discussion of this Cakravāla world-system, and the dimensions and attributes of the four continents in particular, see R. Kloetzli, Buddhist Cosmology, pp. 25-29, and the charts on pp. 37-38. GD (from the Glossary to Tibetan Elemental Divination Paintings)