Vedic Name of the Earth
Kumarika
From Sailing to Jambudvipa page 20 and 21
In the Markandeya Purana it is stated:
Kraushtuki spoke. Adorable Sir! Thou hast fully described this
Jambudvipa...Therefore tell me, O brahman, about this Bharata in detail, and
what are its divisions, and how many they are, and what is its constitution
accurately; it is the country, and what are the provinces and the mountains in it,
O brahman?
21
Markandeya spoke. Hear from me the nine divisions of this country Bharata they
must be known as extending to the ocean, but as being mutually inaccessible.
They are [1] Indra-dvipa, [2] Kaserumat, [3] Tamra-varna, [4] Gabhastimat, and [6] Naga-dvipa,
[7] Saumya, [9] Gandharva and [8] Varuna; and this is the ninth dvipa among them, and it
is surrounded by the sea. This dvipa is a thousand yojanas from south to north.
The Siddhanta-siromani confirms the existence of
these divisions of Bharata-varsa:
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 2.10 purport
From these verses one can conclude that since Markandeya mentions 8 khandas, or 8 divisions, the one missing is Kumarika. Therefor the name of this Earth is officially called Kumarika.
Incidentally the measure of this earth is given as a thousand yoyanas, a yoyana is about 8 miles, so about 8,000 miles (12874 km). The distance from the North to the South pole is given as 12,430 miles. So a discrepancy of about 4,000 miles.
Since it is about 1,800 miles from the coast of Antartica to the South Pole (the Scott Expedition is a 1,800-mile (2,900km), [...] from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole *), 8,000 miles seems pretty accurate, as you have to imagine the ice around Kumarika, from the Vedic standpoint, is not part of Kumarika, but part of Bharata-varsa, so you can double that distance, 1,800 miles times two, makes 3,600 miles minus 12,430 miles, is 8,830 miles
It is also important to note that the radius of the earth is given as 6371 km, if you would multiply this times 2, you get 12742 km, and this is very close to the 12874 km number.
There are also other distances given, like 8595.35 miles, very close to the Vedic model.
For more info check this article and this pdf
* Incidentally the distance in the air to the pole is given as 1278 kilometers.
From Sailing to Jambudvipa page 20 and 21
In the Markandeya Purana it is stated:
Kraushtuki spoke. Adorable Sir! Thou hast fully described this
Jambudvipa...Therefore tell me, O brahman, about this Bharata in detail, and
what are its divisions, and how many they are, and what is its constitution
accurately; it is the country, and what are the provinces and the mountains in it,
O brahman?
21
Markandeya spoke. Hear from me the nine divisions of this country Bharata they
must be known as extending to the ocean, but as being mutually inaccessible.
They are [1] Indra-dvipa, [2] Kaserumat, [3] Tamra-varna, [4] Gabhastimat, and [6] Naga-dvipa,
[7] Saumya, [9] Gandharva and [8] Varuna; and this is the ninth dvipa among them, and it
is surrounded by the sea. This dvipa is a thousand yojanas from south to north.
The Siddhanta-siromani confirms the existence of
these divisions of Bharata-varsa:
In the Siddhānta-śiromaṇi, chapter one (Golādhyāya), in the Bhuvana-kośa section, the nine khaṇḍas are mentioned as follows:
aindraṁ kaśeru sakalaṁ kila tāmraparṇam
anyad gabhastimad ataś ca kumārikākhyam
nāgaṁ ca saumyam iha vāruṇam antya-khaṇḍaṁ
gandharva-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.”
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 2.10 purport
From these verses one can conclude that since Markandeya mentions 8 khandas, or 8 divisions, the one missing is Kumarika. Therefor the name of this Earth is officially called Kumarika.
Note on the different translations: Aindra, is another name for Indra, mat or math, means place, tamraparna, is simply a misspelling of tamra-varna, the v is sometimes pronounced as a b (or p). Varna means tribe and dvipa means island.
Incidentally the measure of this earth is given as a thousand yoyanas, a yoyana is about 8 miles, so about 8,000 miles (12874 km). The distance from the North to the South pole is given as 12,430 miles. So a discrepancy of about 4,000 miles.
Since it is about 1,800 miles from the coast of Antartica to the South Pole (the Scott Expedition is a 1,800-mile (2,900km), [...] from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole *), 8,000 miles seems pretty accurate, as you have to imagine the ice around Kumarika, from the Vedic standpoint, is not part of Kumarika, but part of Bharata-varsa, so you can double that distance, 1,800 miles times two, makes 3,600 miles minus 12,430 miles, is 8,830 miles
It is also important to note that the radius of the earth is given as 6371 km, if you would multiply this times 2, you get 12742 km, and this is very close to the 12874 km number.
There are also other distances given, like 8595.35 miles, very close to the Vedic model.
For more info check this article and this pdf
* Incidentally the distance in the air to the pole is given as 1278 kilometers.
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