Sumeru Mountain

Expressions researched:
"Mount Sumeru" |"Sumeru hill" |"Sumeru mountain" |"Sumeru"

SB Canto 5

SB 5.1.30, Translation:

While so excellently ruling the universe, King Priyavrata once became dissatisfied with the circumambulation of the most powerful sun-god. Encircling Sumeru Hill on his chariot, the sun-god illuminates all the surrounding planetary systems. However, when the sun is on the northern side of the hill, the south receives less light, and when the sun is in the south, the north receives less. King Priyavrata disliked this situation and therefore decided to make daylight in the part of the universe where there was night. He followed the orbit of the sun-god on a brilliant chariot and thus fulfilled his desire. He could perform such wonderful activities because of the power he had achieved by worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB 5.1.30, Purport:

From the description in this verse, it appears that the sun moves. According to modern astronomers, the sun is fixed in one place, surrounded by the solar system, but here we find that the sun is not stationary: it is rotating in a prescribed orbit. This fact is corroborated by Brahma-saṁhitā (5.52). Yasyājñayā bhramati saṁbhṛta-kāla-cakraḥ: the sun is rotating in its fixed orbit in accordance with the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to Jyotir Veda, the science of astronomy in the Vedic literature, the sun moves for six months on the northern side of the Sumeru Hill and for six months on the southern side. We have practical experience on this planet that when there is summer in the north there is winter in the south and vice versa. Modern materialistic scientists sometimes present themselves as knowing all the ingredients of the sun, yet they are unable to offer a second sun like Mahārāja Priyavrata's.

SB 5.16 Summary:

While describing the character of Mahārāja Priyavrata and his descendants, Śukadeva Gosvāmī also described Meru Mountain and the planetary system known as Bhū-maṇḍala. Bhū-maṇḍala is like a lotus flower, and its seven islands are compared to the whorl of the lotus. The place known as Jambūdvīpa is in the middle of that whorl. In Jambūdvīpa there is a mountain known as Sumeru, which is made of solid gold. The height of this mountain is 84,000 yojanas, of which 16,000 yojanas are below the earth. Its width is estimated to be 32,000 yojanas at its summit and 16,000 yojanas at its foot. (One yojana equals approximately eight miles.) This king of mountains, Sumeru, is the support of the planet earth.

On the southern side of the land known as Ilāvṛta-varṣa are the mountains known as Himavān, Hemakūṭa and Niṣadha, and on the northern side are the mountains Nīla, Śveta and Śṛṅga. Similarly, on the eastern and western side there are Mālyavān and Gandhamādana, two large mountains. Surrounding Sumeru Mountain are four mountains known as Mandara, Merumandara, Supārśva and Kumuda, each 10,000 yojanas long and 10,000 yojanas high. On these four mountains there are trees a banyan tree. There are also lakes full of milk, honey, sugarcane juice and pure water. These lakes can fulfill all desires. There are also gardens named Nandana, Citraratha, Vaibhrājaka and Sarvatobhadra. On the side of Supārśva Mountain is a kadamba tree with streams of honey flowing from its hollows, and on Kumuda Mountain there is a banyan tree named Śatavalśa, from whose roots flow rivers containing milk, yogurt and many other desirable things. Surrounding Sumeru Mountain like filaments of the whorl of a lotus are twenty mountain ranges such as Kuraṅga, Kurara, Kusumbha, Vaikaṅka and Trikūṭa. To the east of Sumeru are the mountains Jaṭhara and Devakūṭa, to the west are Pavana and Pāriyātra, to the south are Kailāsa and Karavīra, and to the north are Triśṛṅga and Makara. These eight mountains are about 18,000 yojanas long, 2,000 yojanas wide and 2,000 yojanas high. On the summit of Mount Sumeru is Brahmapurī, the residence of Lord Brahmā. Each of its four sides is 10,000 yojanas long. Surrounding Brahmapurī are the cities of King Indra and seven other demigods. These cities are one fourth the size of Brahmapurī.

SB 5.16.7, Translation:

Amidst these divisions, or varṣas, is the varṣa named Ilāvṛta, which is situated in the middle of the whorl of the lotus. Within Ilāvṛta-varṣa is Sumeru Mountain, which is made of gold. Sumeru Mountain is like the pericarp of the lotuslike Bhū-maṇḍala planetary system. The mountain's height is the same as the width of Jambūdvīpa—or, in other words, 100,000 yojanas (800,000 miles). Of that, 16,000 yojanas (128,000 miles) are within the earth, and therefore the mountain's height above the earth is 84,000 yojanas (672,000 miles). The mountain's width is 32,000 yojanas (256,000 miles) at its summit and 16,000 yojanas at its base.

SB 5.16.11, Translation:

On the four sides of the great mountain known as Sumeru are four mountains-Mandara, Merumandara, Supārśva and Kumuda—which are like its belts. The length and height of these mountains are calculated to be 10,000 yojanas (80,000 miles).

SB 5.16.27, Translation:

On the eastern side of Sumeru Mountain are two mountains named Jaṭhara and Devakūṭa, which extend to the north and south for 18,000 yojanas (144,000 miles). Similarly, on the western side of Sumeru are two mountains named Pavana and Pāriyātra, which also extend north and south for the same distance. On the southern side of Sumeru are two mountains named Kailāsa and Karavīra, which extend east and west for 18,000 yojanas, and on the northern side of Sumeru, extending for the same distance east and west, are two mountains named Triśṛṅga and Makara. The width and height of all these mountains is 2,000 yojanas (16,000 miles). Sumeru, a mountain of solid gold shining as brilliantly as fire, is surrounded by these eight mountains.

SB 5.17.4, Purport:

We should always remember that the Ganges River comes from the Causal Ocean, beyond the covering of the universe. After the water of the Causal Ocean leaks through the hole created by Lord Vāmanadeva, it flows down to Dhruvaloka (the polestar) and then to the seven planets beneath Dhruvaloka. Then it is carried to the moon by innumerable celestial airplanes, and then it falls to the top of Mount Meru, which is known as Sumeru-parvata. In this way, the water of the Ganges finally reaches the lower planets and the peaks of the Himalayas, and from there it flows through Hardwar and throughout the plains of India, purifying the entire land. How the Ganges water reaches the various planets from the top of the universe is explained herein. Celestial airplanes carry the water from the planets of the sages to other planets. So-called advanced scientists of the modern age are trying to go to the higher planets, but at the same time they are experiencing a power shortage on earth. If they were actually capable scientists, they could personally go by airplane to other planets, but this they are unable to do. Having now given up their moon excursions, they are attempting to go to other planets, but without success.

SB 5.20.2, Translation:

As Sumeru Mountain is surrounded by Jambūdvīpa, Jambūdvīpa is also surrounded by an ocean of salt water. The breadth of Jambūdvīpa is 100,000 yojanas (800,000 miles), and the breadth of the saltwater ocean is the same. As a moat around a fort is sometimes surrounded by gardenlike forest, the saltwater ocean surrounding Jambūdvīpa is itself surrounded by Plakṣadvīpa. The breadth of Plakṣadvīpa is twice that of the saltwater ocean—in other words 200,000 yojanas (1,600,000 miles). On Plakṣadvīpa there is a tree shining like gold and as tall as the jambū tree on Jambūdvīpa. At its root is a fire with seven flames. It is because this tree is a plakṣa tree that the island is called Plakṣadvīpa. Plakṣadvīpa was governed by Idhmajihva, one of the sons of Mahārāja Priyavrata. He endowed the seven islands with the names of his seven sons, divided the islands among the sons, and then retired from active life to engage in the devotional service of the Lord.

SB 5.20.30, Purport:

The movement of the sun is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.52): yasyājñāya bhramati saṁbhṛta-kāla-cakraḥ. The sun orbits around Mount Sumeru, for six months on the northern side and for six months on the southern. This adds up to the duration of a day and night of the demigods in the upper planetary systems.

SB 5.20.35, Translation:

Beyond the ocean of sweet water is a tract of land as broad as the area between the middle of Mount Sumeru and the boundary of Mānasottara Mountain. In that tract of land there are many living beings. Beyond it, extending to Lokāloka Mountain, is another land, which is made of gold. Because of its golden surface, it reflects light like the surface of a mirror, and any physical article that falls on that land can never be perceived again. All living entities, therefore, have abandoned that golden land.

SB 5.20.38, Translation:

Learned scholars who are free from mistakes, illusions and propensities to cheat have thus described the planetary systems and their particular symptoms, measurements and locations. With great deliberation, they have established the truth that the distance between Sumeru and the mountain known as Lokāloka is one fourth of the diameter of the universe—or, in other words, 125,000,000 yojanas (1 billion miles).

SB 5.21 Summary:

On Mānasottara Mountain are the abodes of four demigods. East of Sumeru Mountain is Devadhānī, where King Indra lives, and south of Sumeru is Saṁyamanī, the abode of Yamarāja, the superintendent of death. Similarly, west of Sumeru is Nimlocanī, the abode of Varuṇa, the demigod who controls the water, and north of Sumeru is Vibhāvarī, where the demigod of the moon lives. Sunrise, noon, sunset and midnight occur in all these places because of the movements of the sun. Diametrically opposite the place where the sunrise takes places and the sun is seen by human eyes, the sun will be setting and passing away from human vision. Similarly, the people residing diametrically opposite the point where it is midday will be experiencing midnight. The sun rises and sets with all the other planets, headed by the moon and other luminaries.

SB 5.21.7, Translation:

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued; My dear King, as stated before, the learned say that the sun travels over all sides of Mānasottara Mountain in a circle whose length is 95,100,000 yojanas (760,800,000 miles). On Mānasottara Mountain, due east of Mount Sumeru, is a place known as Devadhānī, possessed by King Indra. Similarly, in the south is a place known as Saṁyamanī, possessed by Yamarāja, in the west is a place known as Nimlocanī, possessed by Varuṇa, and in the north is a place named Vibhāvarī, possessed by the moon-god. Sunrise, midday, sunset and midnight occur in all those places according to specific times, thus engaging all living entities in their various occupational duties and also making them cease such duties.

SB 5.21.8-9, Translation:

The living entities residing on Sumeru Mountain are always very warm, as at midday, because for them the sun is always overhead. Although the sun moves counterclockwise, facing the constellations, with Sumeru Mountain on its left, it also moves clockwise and appears to have the mountain on its right because it is influenced by the dakṣiṇāvarta wind. People living in countries at points diametrically opposite to where the sun is first seen rising will see the sun setting, and if a straight line were drawn from a point where the sun is at midday, the people in countries at the opposite end of the line would be experiencing midnight. Similarly, if people residing where the sun is setting were to go to countries diametrically opposite, they would not see the sun in the same condition.

SB 5.21.13, Translation:

The chariot of the sun-god has only one wheel, which is known as Saṁvatsara. The twelve months are calculated to be its twelve spokes, the six seasons are the sections of its rim, and the three cātur-māsya periods are its three-sectioned hub. One side of the axle carrying the wheel rests upon the summit of Mount Sumeru, and the other rests upon Mānasottara Mountain. Affixed to the outer end of the axle, the wheel continuously rotates on Mānasottara Mountain like the wheel of an oil-pressing machine.

SB 5.22.1, Translation:

King Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī: My dear lord, you have already affirmed the truth that the supremely powerful sun-god travels around Dhruvaloka with both Dhruvaloka and Mount Sumeru on his right. Yet at the same time the sun-god faces the signs of the zodiac and keeps Sumeru and Dhruvaloka on his left. How can we reasonably accept that the sun-god proceeds with Sumeru and Dhruvaloka on both his left and right simultaneously?

SB 5.22.2, Translation:

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī clearly answered: When a potter's wheel is moving and small ants located on that big wheel are moving with it, one can see that their motion is different from that of the wheel because they appear sometimes on one part of the wheel and sometimes on another. Similarly, the signs and constellations, with Sumeru and Dhruvaloka on their right, move with the wheel of time, and the antlike sun and other planets move with them. The sun and planets, however, are seen in different signs and constellations at different times. This indicates that their motion is different from that of the zodiac and the wheel of time itself.

SB 5.22.11, Translation:

There are many stars located 200,000 yojanas (1,600,000 miles) above the moon. By the supreme will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are fixed to the wheel of time, and thus they rotate with Mount Sumeru on their right, their motion being different from that of the sun. There are twenty-eight important stars, headed by Abhijit.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.17 Summary:

After personally talking with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, King Citraketu enjoyed life in his airplane with the women of the Vidyādhara planet. Engaging in the congregational chanting of the glories of the Lord, he began flying his plane and traveling in outer space. One day while traveling like this, he wandered into the bowers of Sumeru Mountain, where he came upon Lord Śiva embracing Pārvatī, surrounded by an assembly of Siddhas, Cāraṇas and great sages. Seeing Lord Śiva in that situation, Citraketu laughed very loudly, but Pārvatī became very angry at him and cursed him. Because of this curse, Citraketu later appeared as the demon Vṛtrāsura.

SB 6.17.2-3, Translation:

Being praised by great sages and saints and by the inhabitants of Siddhaloka and Cāraṇaloka, Citraketu, the most powerful mystic yogī, wandered about enjoying life for millions of years. With bodily strength and senses free from deterioration, he traveled within the valleys of Sumeru Mountain, which is the place of perfection for various kinds of mystic power. In those valleys he enjoyed life with the women of Vidyādhara-loka by chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord, Hari.

SB Canto 8

SB 8.5.17-18, Translation:

Lord Indra, Varuṇa and the other demigods, seeing their lives in such a state, consulted among themselves, but they could not find any solution. Then all the demigods assembled and went together to the peak of Sumeru Mountain. There, in the assembly of Lord Brahmā, they fell down to offer Lord Brahmā their obeisances, and then they informed him of all the incidents that had taken place.

SB Canto 9

SB 9.1 Summary:

Once upon a time, Sudyumna went on tour with his ministers. At the foot of the mountain Sumeru there is a forest named Sukumāra, and as soon as they entered that forest, they were all transformed into women. When Mahārāja Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī about the reason for this transformation, Śukadeva Gosvāmī described how Sudyumna, being transformed into a woman, accepted Budha, the son of the moon, as her husband and had a son named Purūravā. By the grace of Lord Śiva, Sudyumna received the benediction that he would live one month as a woman and one month as a man. Thus he regained his kingdom and had three sons, named Utkala, Gaya and Vimala, who were all very religious. Thereafter, he entrusted his kingdom to Purūravā and took the order of vānaprastha life.

SB 9.4.50, Translation:

As the blazing flames of a forest fire pursue a snake, the disc of the Supreme Personality of Godhead began following Durvāsā Muni. Durvāsā Muni saw that the disc was almost touching his back, and thus he ran very swiftly, desiring to enter a cave of Sumeru Mountain.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.1 Summary:

The great saint Nārada descended from the heavenly planets to the forest of Mathurā and sent his messenger to Kaṁsa. When the messenger approached Kaṁsa and informed him of Nārada's arrival, Kaṁsa, the leader of the asuras, was very happy and immediately came out of his palace to receive Nārada, who was as bright as the sun, as powerful as fire, and free from all tinges of sinful activities. Kaṁsa accepted Nārada as his guest, offered him respectful obeisances and gave him a golden seat, brilliant like the sun. Nārada was a friend of the King of heaven, and thus he told Kaṁsa, the son of Ugrasena, "My dear hero, you have satisfied me with a proper reception, and therefore I shall tell you something secret and confidential. While I was coming here from Nandakānana through the Caitraratha forest, I saw a great meeting of the demigods, who followed me to Sumeru Parvata. We traveled through many holy places, and finally we saw the holy Ganges. While Lord Brahmā was consulting the other demigods at the top of Sumeru Hill, I was also present with my stringed instrument, the vīṇā. I shall tell you confidentially that the meeting was held just to plan to kill the asuras, headed by you. You have a younger sister named Devakī, and it is a fact that her eighth son will kill you."

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 10.18.26, Translation:

As the great demon carried Balarāma, the Lord became as heavy as massive Mount Sumeru, and Pralamba had to slow down. He then resumed his actual form—an effulgent body that was covered with golden ornaments and that resembled a cloud flashing with lightning and carrying the moon.

SB 11.16.21, Translation:

Among residences I am Mount Sumeru, and of impervious places I am the Himalayas. Among trees I am the holy fig tree, and among plants I am those that bear grains.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 5.112, Purport:

The Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (Pūrva 2.36–42) gives the following description of the Viṣṇuloka within this universe, quoted from the Viṣṇu-dharmottara: "Above Rudraloka, the planet of Lord Śiva, is the planet called Viṣṇuloka, 400,000 miles in circumference, which is inaccessible to any mortal living being. Above that Viṣṇuloka and east of the Sumeru Hill is a golden island called Mahā-Viṣṇuloka, in the ocean of salt water. Lord Brahmā and other demigods sometimes go there to meet Lord Viṣṇu. Lord Viṣṇu lies there with the goddess of fortune, and it is said that during the four months of the rainy season He enjoys sleeping on that Śeṣa Nāga bed. East of Sumeru is the ocean of milk, in which there is a white city on a white island where the Lord can be seen sitting with His consort, Lakṣmījī, on a throne of Śeṣa. That feature of Viṣṇu also enjoys sleeping during the four months of the rainy season. The Śvetadvīpa in the milk ocean is situated just south of the ocean of salt water. It is calculated that the area of Śvetadvīpa is 200,000 square miles. This transcendentally beautiful island is decorated with desire trees to please Lord Viṣṇu and His consort." There are references to Śvetadvīpa in the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Mahābhārata and Padma Purāṇa, and there is the following reference in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.15.18).

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 13.19, Translation and Purport:

Everyone was astonished to see the decorations on the Ratha car. The car appeared to be newly made of gold, and it was as high as Mount Sumeru.

In the year 1973 there was a gorgeous Ratha-yātrā festival in London, England, and the car was brought to Trafalgar Square. The London daily newspaper The Guardian published a front-page photo caption: "ISKCON Ratha-yātrā is rival to the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square." The Nelson Column is a very impressive statue of Lord Nelson and can be seen from a good distance. Just as the residents of Purī compared the Ratha-yātrā car to Mount Sumeru, the residents of London considered the car rival to the Nelson Monument.

CC Madhya 14.86, Translation:

A drop from the ocean of Your mercy can drown great mountains like Sumeru and Mandara. Since these two gentlemen are little hills by comparison, it is no wonder that they are being drowned in the ocean of Your mercy.

Light of the Bhagavata

Light of the Bhagavata 48, Translation:

The moon, or Candraloka, is one of the four important places of residence for the demigods. Beyond Mānasa Lake is Sumeru Mountain. On the eastern side of this mountain is the planet Devadhānī, where Indra resides. On the southern side is the planet known as Saṁyamanī, where Yamarāja resides. On the western side is the planet known as Nimlocanī, the residence of Vāyu, the demigod who controls the wind. And on the northern side of the mountain is the moon, which is also known as Vibhāvarī.

Light of the Bhagavata 48, Purport:

The moon is too cold for the inhabitants of this earth, and therefore ordinary persons who want to go there with earthly bodies are attempting to do so in vain. Merely seeing the moon from a distance cannot enable one to understand the real situation of the moon. One has to cross Mānasa Lake and then Sumeru Mountain, and only then can one trace out the orbit of the moon. Besides that, no ordinary man is allowed to enter that planet. Even those admitted there after death must have performed the prescribed duties to satisfy the pitās and devas. Yet even they are sent back to earth after a fixed duration of life—on the moon.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 6.1.33 -- San Francisco, July 18, 1975:

So siddha-sattamāḥ. Siddhas... Here we have to practice to become siddha, perfect, but there, in the Siddhaloka, they are so perfect that they can go from one planet to another. The yogis can go, but they are born yogis. One planet... This is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We have seen in this Second Canto. There is Siddhaloka. So many planets are there, so many opulences are there, that it cannot be compared. And there is description. So one planet to another, or one planet to the Sumeru hills, there is long, millions of miles, made of gold. They are gold. Similarly copper. Similarly, there are different oceans. Now, we may not believe, but there is no question of believing. You cannot say, "There is no such thing." But we can say because we get the information from the śāstra. You have no evidence, so you cannot say "No." You can say "Maybe," but we don't say "Maybe." There is because we get the information from the śāstra.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- February 21, 1975, Caracas:

Prabhupāda: University education is simply to learn some art, materialistic art. It is not education. Education is different. Education is brahma-vidyā, self-realization. Therefore in politics the so-called leader, because there is no standard, they change government, revolution. Why? From nature's study we can see one tree is producing a particular type of fruit and flower. There is no revolution. It is standard. But these people, because they have no standard, they change every moment, every year. Nature's way—the sun is rising from the eastern side—that is standard. (chuckles) These rascals, they will say, "Let the sun rise from the north." It is childish, simply childish. "Eastern philosophers, Western..." What is this philosophy? Philosophy is philosophy. Why they talk of Eastern, Western?" Eastern sun, Western sun." Sun is always Eastern, never Western. How one can say, "Western sun?" (break) Just see. It is in the water, but the water is not over it. If the water increases, it also increases. See? There is no water on the leaf. Here you see. The water must be always down. (break) ...falling from the top of the Sumeru Hill, a big tree, and the juice, after falling down, turns into a river of mango juice. And the blackberries, they are just like the body of elephant and small seed. They also turn into river, Jambu-nada. And the both sides of the river, being moistened by the juice and dried by air and interacted by the sunshine, it becomes gold. And that gold is used for the denizens of heaven for their ornaments, helmets, bracelet, belt. Where is gold here? Paper. They cannot make even gold coins. They are reducing into poverty. In our childhood we have seen gold coin currency, silver coin. And now there is no such thing. Plastic. Paper and plastic. This is their advancement. Yes, it is a nice garden.

Morning Walk -- November 20, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, in South Africa there is gold. In the city there are so many gold mines in South Africa.

Dr. Patel: Yes. South Africa is today supplying more than half of the world gold. Our mines are getting exhausted in Kolar(?) and all this, Mysore State. America, they have not been able to search out gold anywhere. Perhaps in South America they may be having some gold mines, but they have not made any survey. But the Russians, they say there are very huge mountains, gold on the surface.

Yaśomatīnandana: Sumeru is made of gold, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Yaśomatīnandana: Where is that located? (laughter)

Dr. Patel: In your mind.

Prabhupāda: No. Where is the sun located now?

Yaśomatīnandana: 93,000,000...

Prabhupāda: No, no. Sun. Sun. Where is located now?

Yaśomatīnandana: Oh, it's out of my sight.

Prabhupāda: You cannot see it.

Yaśomatīnandana: Sumeru we cannot see. It's not on the earth?

Prabhupāda: You can, but you have no eyes.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 18, 1976, Mayapura:

Gurudāsa: What's the answer, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: So you answer. He has understood.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: According to Bhāgavatam, the moon is not going around the earth. It is revolving around Mount Sumeru. Isn't it?

Prabhupāda: Yes. According Bhāgavata, that is a different thing. But this...

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: But why the moon should simply follow that same pattern...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: ...going east to west, east to west? Why not...?

Bhavānanda: Random.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: At random. Sometimes rising from the south.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Sometimes, perhaps, from the north.

Haṁsadūta: Well, they say it has a fixed orbit around the earth.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Haṁsadūta: It has a fixed orbit around the earth.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Who fixed the orbit?

Jayatīrtha: Kṛṣṇa.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Chance.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Chance.

Prabhupāda: And the sun is also rising from the east. But sun is fixed up, and the moon is moving. So why they are coming from the same side?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Wonderful question. These are wonderful things.

Hari-śauri: Well, they say that the moon, the moon is actually moving around the earth.

Prabhupāda: That's all right.

Room Conversation With Scientists -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: That may be, but by treating you can get, that's all. The metallurgists, they know.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. So actually the Vedas must have known these techniques, because otherwise they cannot get this gold so easily.

Prabhupāda: No, there are gold mountains also.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Mount Sumeru?

Prabhupāda: There are gold mountains, silver mountains, iron mountains, copper road, everything is there. What is that?

Devotee (1): This is a new picture of Mars, just came in the Washington Post today. Here is what the scientists say the mountains are on Mars. Big crater they are talking about. This is a recent photo.

Prabhupāda: So? What do they say?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Says it's a Grand Canyon. Just like in Arizona there's a canyon called Grand Canyon.

Prabhupāda: So might be from Arizona? (laughter) Like Arizona, that means Arizona.

Rūpānuga: Just like Arizona, the same rocks you find in Arizona.

Prabhupāda: Just see.

Morning Walk -- July 18, 1976, New York:

Rāmeśvara: (break) ...were just amazed at the dancing of Lord Caitanya. How Lord Jagannātha would stop His car just to see. It says that Lord Jagannātha is maintaining the whole universe, so who can carry Him? Only by His sweet will for His own pastimes can He be moved. And the cart that moves Him is as tall as Mount Sumeru.

Prabhupāda: Potamkin..., and what was that in Washington, Potomyer?

Devotees: Potomac.

Rāmeśvara: And you wrote that just like the cart of Jagannātha is compared to Mount Sumeru, similarly, in London they were comparing it to that statue of Lord Nelson.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Lord Nelson's column.

Rāmeśvara: Lord Nelson's column.

Prabhupāda: Rival to Nelson. They published, Guardian.

Rāmeśvara: The Guardian, yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Good newspaper.

Prabhupāda: It has become against.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Maybe because...

Prabhupāda: It is political.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- June 18, 1977, Vrndavana:

Yaśodānandana: And it describes, "In Jambūdvīpa there are nine divisions of land, each with a length of 9,000 yojanas, 72,000 miles: Bhārata-varṣa, Kimpuruṣa-varṣa, Hari-varṣa, Bhadra-varṣa, Ilāvṛta-varṣa, Ketumāla-varṣa, Ramyaka-varṣa, Hiraṇmaya-varṣa, and Kuru-varṣa. There are eight mountains that mark the boundaries of these divisions and separate them nicely. Starting with the Himalayas"—that's the first mountain—"Hemakūṭa Parvata"—second mountain—"Niṣadha Parvata"—third mountain—it goes... This... "Gandhamādana Parvata, which is the east side of Sumeru, and then Mālyavān Mountain on the west side..."

Bhakti-prema(?): Nīla mountain, north; Śveta mountain, next; and Śṛṅgavān Mountain, north.

Yaśodānandana: Maybe you can explain that Sanskrit purport also?

Bhakti-prema: (Sanskrit) It is bow-shaped. Bhārata-varṣa is bow-shaped, and this Bhadra-varṣa is again bow-shaped, Kuru-varṣa, again bow-shaped, and this Ketumāla-varṣa, again... So they were shaped. (Sanskrit) That means thirty-four yojanas...

Prabhupāda: Thousand yojanas.

Bhakti-prema: ...square. Thirty-four thousand yojanas in..., in this. This is Kimpuruṣa-varṣa. That is between Himalaya and Hemakūṭa mountain. And again Hari-varṣa is between Hemakūṭa Mountain and Niṣadha Mountain. And this Ramyaka...

Prabhupāda: Where is geographical description of this?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They don't even know they exist.

Prabhupāda: Little description of the Himalayas.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's all.

Room Conversation -- June 18, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: That means Rahu planet we have connection.

Bhakti-prema: Yes. Rahu. And above that Rahu there is sun planet, and Sumeru mountain has connection with that because it is hurling again...

Yaśodānandana: It says right here.

Prabhupāda: Do it nicely.

Yaśodānandana: It is mentioned that this Sumeru Parvata, the mountain's height is the same as the width of Jambūdvīpa. So this mountain comes up to here, the same distance as this, 100,000 yojanas. So it's perfectly... This is the same length on this side and also like this. It's made like a big, a big cone on top. It describes, "Of that mountain, Sumeru Parvata, 16,000 yojanas, or 128,000 miles, are within, under." So Sumeru is like this, and it also goes under the Jambūdvīpa planetary system. And therefore the mountain's head above the earth, above here, there is 84,000 yojanas, 672,000 miles above the level. And the mountain's width, the mountain on top, is considered to be 32,000 yojanas, or 256,000 miles. And in the bottom it's 16,000 yojanas. Scientists cannot conceive of this. Their estimation of a mountain is that it must be bigger in the bottom and end up smaller at the top, but Mount Meru is twice as big in the top than it is in the bottom. They cannot understand. Next verse, it describes the different divisions. "Just north of Ilāvṛta-varṣa and going further northward, one after another, are three mountains, namely Nīla Mountain, Śveta Mountain, and Śṛṅgavān Mountain. These mark the borders of the three varṣas, namely Ramyaka, Hiraṇmaya, and Kuru, and separate them from one another. The width of these mountains is..."

Prabhupāda: And it was not possible for me to digest. (laughs) Somebody else helped me to... I am a layman. I do not know.

Room Conversation -- June 18, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: They could not measure the whole thing. That is not possible.

Yaśodānandana: Then it describes here that "On the west and east of Ilāvṛta-varṣa are two great mountains named Mālyavān and Gandhamādana respectively. These two mountains, which are 2,000 yojanas, 16,000 miles..." (break) "...in the north and Niṣadha mountain in the south. They indicate the borders of Ilāvṛta-varṣa and also the varṣas named as Ketumāla-varṣa and Bhadrāśva-varṣa." Then it gets into more details regarding Mount Meru. "Text number eleven. On the four sides of the great mountain known as Sumeru are four mountains," these Mandara Parvata. This is the mountain.

Prabhupāda: So how you'll show actually?

Bhakti-prema: This is according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Prabhupāda: No, that's all right. Now, that doll, that you have to make.

Yaśodānandana: We are calling one artist from Māyāpur. Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja has arranged to bring one artist, so we're going to draw perspectives. We're going to draw this and all... (break)

Prabhupāda: We have some artist. We have... That's all. That is perfect.

Room Conversation With Son (Vrindavan De) -- July 5, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: And what is from Bhāgavata? The sun movement?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's just like there's a couple of things that we want to get very clear. Like it's described that one of the axles...

Prabhupāda: Uttarāyaṇa, dakṣiṇāyana. This Sumeru Mountain... So six months, northern side; six months, southern side.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. Some things are quite clear. Then there's a description, though, that there's an axle, it's described, a tie made of wind going from the chariot to Dhruvaloka. So things like that we want to get a..., further information on. Just so that it can be somehow demonstrated. Our... To understand these things for the purpose of making an exhibit requires a very clear picture. So that's the only reason we're looking to other books. But only bona fide books. The ācāryas' commentaries, like that. And then it has to agree with the Bhāgavatam. If in any way there's a discrepancy, we choose the Bhāgavatam as the authority.

Prabhupāda: On the whole, the sun is not fixed up.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, not at all. It's moving. As a matter of fact, it describes sometimes it moves in one way with Meru at its right side, and then sometimes it moves the other way with Meru at its left side.

Prabhupāda: That is dakṣiṇāyana-mārga, dakṣiṇāyanam, uttarāyaṇa.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's very much moving and at very high speed.

Prabhupāda: Yes. I calculated sixteen thousand miles per second, so far I remember.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. I think that's right.

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Svarupa Damodara -- Auckland 27 April, 1976:

Now our Ph.D's must collaborate and study the 5th Canto to make a model for building the Vedic Planetarium. My final decision is that the universe is just like a tree, with root upwards. Just as a tree has branches and leaves so the universe is also composed of planets which are fixed up in the tree like the leaves, flowers, fruits, etc. of the tree. The pivot is the pole star, and the whole tree is rotating on this pivot. Mount Sumeru is the center, trunk, and is like a steep hill, like the alps mountains which also have very high peaks. I have seen in Switzerland one mountain peak which was so high that is penetrated through the clouds. The tree is turning and therefore, all the branches and leaves turn with the tree. The planets have their fixed orbits, but still they are turning with the turning of the great tree. There are pathways leading from one planet to another made of gold, copper, etc., and these are like the branches. Distances are also described in the 5th Canto just how far one planet is from another.