Varahadeva

Text 40: O lifter of the earth, the earth with its mountains, which You have lifted with Your tusks, is situated as beautifully as a lotus flower with leaves sustained by an infuriated elephant just coming out of the water.

Text 41: O Lord, as the peaks of great mountains become beautiful when decorated with clouds, Your transcendental body has become beautiful because of Your lifting the earth on the edge of Your tusks.

ŚB 3.13.47

स इत्थं भगवानुर्वीं विष्वक्सेन: प्रजापति: ।
रसाया लीलयोन्नीतामप्सु न्यस्य ययौ हरि: ॥ ४७ ॥

sa itthaṁ bhagavān urvīṁ
viṣvaksenaḥ prajāpatiḥ
rasāyā līlayonnītām
apsu nyasya yayau hariḥ

Synonyms

saḥ — He; ittham — in this manner; bhagavān — the Personality of Godhead; urvīm — the earth; viṣvaksenaḥ — another name of Viṣṇu; prajā-patiḥ — the Lord of the living entities; rasāyāḥ — from within the water; līlayā — very easily; unnītām — raised; apsu — on the water; nyasya — placing; yayau — returned to His own abode; hariḥ — the Personality of Godhead.

Translation

In this manner the Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, the maintainer of all living entities, raised the earth from within the water, and having placed it afloat on the water, He returned to His own abode.

Mahabharata - Adi Parva

 1.36.20

śeṣa gaccha adhaḥ puṇyām imāṃ tvat-saṃviditāṃ dharām 

saṃdhāraya bhujaga-śreṣṭha yathā syān na calācalā 

WORD FOR WORD

śeṣa — O Śeṣa; gaccha — go; adhaḥ — underneath; puṇyām — the holy; imām — this; tvat-saṃviditām — known by You; dharām — the earth; saṃdhāraya — hold firmly (sustain); bhujaga-śreṣṭha — O best of serpents; yathā — so that; syāt — she may be; na — not; calācalā — unsteady/moving/tottering.

TRANSLATION

Lord Brahmā said: 

O Śeṣa, go beneath the holy earth, which is well known to You. O best of serpents, sustain her firmly so that she may no longer be unsteady and tottering.

Srimad Bhagavatam 5.26.5

ऋषिरुवाच
अन्तराल एव त्रिजगत्यास्तु दिशि दक्षिणस्यामधस्ताद्भ‍ूमेरुपरिष्टाच्च जलाद्यस्यामग्निष्वात्तादय: पितृगणा दिशि स्वानां गोत्राणां परमेण समाधिना सत्या एवाशिष आशासाना निवसन्ति ॥ ५ ॥

ṛṣir uvāca
antarāla eva tri-jagatyās tu diśi dakṣiṇasyām adhastād bhūmer upariṣṭāc ca jalād yasyām agniṣvāttādayaḥ pitṛ-gaṇā diśi svānāṁ gotrāṇāṁ parameṇa samādhinā satyā evāśiṣa āśāsānā nivasanti.

Synonyms

ṛṣiḥ uvāca — the great sage replied; antarāle — in the intermediate space; eva — certainly; tri-jagatyāḥ — of the three worlds; tu — but; diśi — in the direction; dakṣiṇasyām — southern; adhastāt — beneath; bhūmeḥ — on the earth; upariṣṭāt — a little above; ca — and; jalāt — the Garbhodaka Ocean; yasyām — in which; agniṣvāttā-ādayaḥ — headed by Agniṣvāttā; pitṛ-gaṇāḥ — the persons known as pitās; diśi — direction; svānām — their own; gotrāṇām — of the families; parameṇa — with great; samādhinā — absorption in thoughts of the Lord; satyāḥ — in truth; eva — certainly; āśiṣaḥ — blessings; āśāsānāḥ — desiring; nivasanti — they live.

Translation

The great sage Śukadeva Gosvāmī answered: All the hellish planets are situated in the intermediate space between the three worlds and the Garbhodaka Ocean. They lie on the southern side of the universe, beneath Bhū-maṇḍala, and slightly above the water of the Garbhodaka Ocean. Pitṛloka is also located in this region between the Garbhodaka Ocean and the lower planetary systems. All the residents of Pitṛloka, headed by Agniṣvāttā, meditate in great samādhi on the Supreme Personality of Godhead and always wish their families well.

Phase 1 

ŚB 3.13.47: Varaha rescues the Earth and lets it float on the water.

Phase 2 

MB 1.36.20: Because the Earth is unsteady (calācalā) on the water, Brahma orders Ananta to go underneath (adhaḥ).

Phase 3 

Srimad Bhagavatam 5.26.5: By lifting the Earth off the water's surface, Ananta creates the intermediate space (antarālyam). This area is exactly 240,000 miles deep—providing the space for Yamaloka and Pitṛloka.