CHAPTER – 59
Oh Muni, the Bharata Barsha is duly described by me. The Satya, the Treta, the Dwapara, and the Kali, these are the four Yugas; and it is here alone that these Yugas and the four castes exist, Oh thou twice-born one! Oh Brahman, in the four Yugas, Satya, Treta &c here people lived for four, three, two, and likewise one hundred years respectively. The Barsha Bhadrashwa by name that is situate to the east of Debakuta, at the back of the Prince of mountains, hear of it from me. In this Barsha, Swetaparna, and Nila, and the most excellent among mountains, Shaibala, Kamanja, Panashalagra, these five are the Kula mountains; their offsprings there are many others, small mountains. (1-5) In them are a thousand provinces, of various kinds, that appear like flowers, and the table-land of these smaller mountains is clean and auspicious looking. (6) Shita, Shankabati, Bhadra, Chakrabarta, these and others are the rivers in this Barsha, – they are all of great extent, and the carriers of great volumes of cooling waters. The men in this Barsha are possessed of the glamour of pure gold and mother-of-pearl, associates of the gods, righteous, and the length of their life is a thousand years. Among them there is neither good nor bad, all of them look on this creation with an equal eye, and they are endowed with the eight natural virtues of indifference to the conflicts of heat and cold &c. – There the four-armed god Janarddana, exists as Aswashira, adorned with three eyes, and having head, breasts, the reproductive organ, the feet and the hands. Of him, the lord of the world is this to be known as the property. (6-11) To the west of it
is the Ketumala Barsha; hear of it from me. Bishala, Kambala, Krishna, Jayanta, the mountains Hari, Bishoka, and Bardhaman, these seven are the Kula mountains here. There are a thousand other mountains wherein people live. The Manlaya, the Mahakaya, the Shakapota, the Karambaka, the Angula, and others, hundreds of peoples live there, who drink the waters of the Rangkshu, the Shyama, the Kambala, the Amogha, the Kamini, and of a thousand other great rivers. (12-15) The duration of human life here is the same as in the previous Barsha, and Hari, the possessor of the six great qualities, the Bhagas, exists in the form of the boar with his feet, breast, back and sides, all like the boar, – in this Barsha, which has three stars attached to it, and all these stars are propitious. Thus then, is the Ketumala Barsha described to you, O most excellent Muni, by me. (16-17) Next I shall describe Kuru – hear that from me. There the trees produce fruits of honey and they constantly bear flowers and fruits; and they produce cloth and in their fruits are produced ornaments; those trees are able to fulfil all desires, and bestow the fruits of all sorts of wishes. (18-19) The earth is made of precious stones and metals, the air is sweet-scented and pleasant during all seasons. Men, who fall off from the region of the gods, are born there. They are born in pairs of males and females, who live for equal periods, and are attached to each other, even as the Cakrabakas. (20-21) The duration of their life is fourteen and a half thousand years. In that Barsha Chandrakanta, and Suryakanta these two princes of mountains are the Kulacalas; and between them the great river Bhadrasoma flows on the earth and the current of its waters is pure and without any unclean things. Similarly in the northern part of this Barsha there flows a thousand other rivers, some of whose currents are of ghee and of some of milk. In that Barsha there are likewise many lakes of curd, and many smaller mountains; and many kinds of fruits whose flavour and taste are like those of nectar, are there in the forests of that Barsha, which number hundreds and thousands. And there Vishnu, the possessor of the six great qualities, the Bhagas, he whose face is towards the east, is of the form of fish. (22-26) O thou most excellent among Munis, there the stars are nine in number arranged in groups of three, and the quarters are also divided into nine parts. In the ocean (of this Barsha), one island is Candradwipa and another likewise Bhadradwipa and these, O thou great Muni, are well-known as sacred among places in the ocean. Thus is the Kurubarsha described by me to you, O Brahmana. Hear from me now all about the Kimpurusha and other Barshas. (27-29)