||    Dhveepams, Khandams , Varshams    ||

Thanks for your note on the Sankalpam. It is my guess that the temple priests / Aagama Saasthra NipuNAs affiliated with the Srirangam temple ( Malibu Temple ) , Thirupathi ( Pittsburgh Temple ) , Mathurai temple (Houston - MeenAkshi Temple ) et al might be the sources of this sankalpam customized for the temples in North America. As you know, many of the Aagama experts , who come frequently here from their Bangalore ( Sri SampathkumAra Bhattar ) , Chennai , Srirangam ( Sri Veda VyAsa Bhattar of ParAsara Bhattar's lineage ) and Thirupathi bases for SamprOkshaNam , PrANa prathishtai , Yaagams train some of the Bhattars here and might be the sources of these customized sankalpams.

Now coming back to the words used in the MahA Sankalpam , DvipAs come first. Dvipam is indeed a division of the terrestrial world , whose numbers vary according to different PurANic and KaavyA sources. They vary from 4 , 7 ,9 , 13 or 18. The large numbers arise from the inclusion of Upadveepams in the count of Dveepams.

"Saptha DveepA vasundharA" is the commonly quoted portion of a slokam. All are conceived as being situated around Mount Meru like the petals of a lotus flower. They are visulaized as being separated from each other by distinct concentric and circumambient oceans. According to the traditional MahA sankalpam, Jambhu Dveepam is at the epicenter and includes Bharatha KhanDam in it as a subdivision.

Srimadh Bhagavatham ( 5th canto , chapters 17 to 25 ) and Sri NArAyaNeeyam ( 21st Dasakam ) give the detailed account of the Dveepams. They give the name of the Gods resident there and the Manthrams for them. There are individual kanDams in each of the DveepAs. For instance, Jambhu Dveepam surrounded by salty ocean is included in our MahA Sankalpam. It has nine divisions ( KanDams ) and Bharatha KanDam is one of the nine. The rest of the eight are : ILAvrutham , BhadrAchalam , Hari Varsham , KethumAlam , Ramyakam , HiraNmayam , Uttara Kuru , and Kimpurusham. Bhagavan NarasimhA is the presiding deity of Hari Varsha Dveepam. The presiding deity of Bharatha Varsham is Nara NaarAyaNa Murthy.

In the seven dvepA count, the six dveepams beyond Jambhu Dveepam are: Plaksha , Saalmala , Kusa , KROUNCHAA , Saaka and Pushkaram. Bhagavan shines as SuryA in Plaksha Dveepam known for KallAla trees. This is surrounded by sugar cane juice ocean. This has seven kanDAs of its own.

Saalmalam is surrounded by Madhu ( surai ) samudram. Saalmalam trees are also abundant here. The Veda-maya Garudan is the BhagavAn here. This has seven divisions ( KhanDams ) again.

Kusa Dveepam is surrounded according to PurANAs by the ocean of ghee. Kusa grass is abundant. HiraNyarethas is the overall Lord here.

KROUNCHA Dveepam is surrounded by the milky ocean. It has the famous mountain named KrounchA , which was split by SubramaNyA and ParasurAmA of yore. Kruthaprushtar is the Lord of this Dveepam. Matsya , VarAha and Bhavishyath PurANams describe the Krouncha Dveepam. According to the Soora Samharam legend, KrounchA mountain was off the coast of Thirucchendoor.

Saaka Dveepam is surrounded by the ocean of curds. Saakam is another type of tree that grows plentifully in this dveepam. The Lord of this Dveepam is MedhAthithi.

Pushkara Dveepam is surrounded by ocean of water free from salt. BrahmA is resident here.

VishNu purANam , MahA Bharatham , Raghu Vamsam Saakunthalam , Dharma SangrahA texts provide additional details on these dveepams and their characteristics.

Varsha parvatham: Varsha mountains in our PurAnic literature refers to one of the mountain ranges that separate the different divisions of "the worlds" from one another. The seven ( saptha ) varsha parvathAs are : HimavAn , Hemakuta, NishadO , Meru , Chaitra , KarNee and Sringhi.

The enormity of the overlays of names can be quite confusing. The original intent was to realize a scheme of GIS classification and provide coordinates.

In summary, the introduction of the items of identification for American continent named after Amerigo Vespucci , such as Krouncha DveepA , HiraNya Varsha ( wall Street ) , Go teertha Kanda may be a stretch of the imagination of our modern day Aagama saasthra experts.

There is however a Meru mountain in Bharatha Varsham of Jambu dveepam. The connection of America to Krouncha dveepam is an overstretch in my opinion. The part, MerO: PaschimE PaarsvE " is however correct in terms of geographical coordinates.

Best Regards,
V.Sadagopan

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