Dvipa (Sanskrit: द्वीप, lit. 'island', IAST: Dvīpa)[1] is a term in Hindu cosmography. The Puranas describe a dvipa to be one of the seven islands[2] or continents that are present on earth, each of them surrounded by an ocean.[3] The same terminology is also used to refer to the seven regions of the cosmos.[4][5]
In the geocentric model of Hinduism, the seven dvipas are present around Mount Meru, which is present at the centre of Jambudvipa,[6] the term employed for the Indian subcontinent.[7] Dvipa is also sometimes used to refer to the abodes of deities, such as Manidvipa.[8]
The word dvipa is a portmanteau of the Sanskrit words dvī (two) and apa (water),[9] meaning "having water on two sides".[10] It is cognate with the Young Avestan 'duuaēpa', which means the same.[11]
According to the Matsya Purana and the Bhagavata Purana, the world is divided into seven dvipas, termed as the sapta-dvīpa (the seven islands).[12] The Mahabharata names the following as the seven islands of the world:[13]
| Name | Ocean | Etymology |
|---|---|---|
| Jambudvīpa | Lavaṇoda | Syzygium cumini |
| Plakṣadvīpa | Ikṣurasa | Ficus religiosa |
| Śālmaladvīpa | Suroda | Bombax tree |
| Kuśadvīpa | Ghṛta | Desmotachya bipinnata |
| Krauñcadvīpa | Kṣīroda | The Krauñca hill |
| Śākadvīpa | Dadhi | Teak |
| Puṣkaradvīpa | Jala | Lotus |
The British author Benjamin Walker offers the following description of the dvipas:[14]
Beneath the celestial regions, the earth is arranged in these seven concentric rings of island continents.
Bordering the outermost sea is a land named Lokāloka, which separates the known world from the world of darkness. This realm comprises a range of mountains ten thousand yojanas high. The shell of the cosmic egg known as Brahmanda lies beyond this darkness, cradling all of creation.
The Brahma Purana describes the sapta-dvīpa as such:[15]
O brahmins, there are seven continents viz—Jambū, Plakṣa, Śālmala, Kuśa, Krauñca, Śāka and Puṣkara. These are encircled by seven oceans, the briny ocean, sea of the sugarcane juice, wine, ghee, curds, milk and sweet water. The Jambūdvīpa is situated in the middle. In its centre, O leading brahmins, is the Meru the mountain of gold.
— Chapter 16
The Bengali text Chaitanya Charitamrita, written c. 1557, describes the concept in the following manner:[16]
"The "planets" are called dvīpas.
Outer space is like an ocean of air.
Just as there are islands in the watery ocean,
these planets in the ocean of space are called dvīpas, or islands in outer space"
— Chaitanya Caritamrita Madhya 20.218, Purport