SB 5.16.7 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

एषां मध्ये इलावृतं नामाभ्यन्तरवर्षं यस्य नाभ्यामवस्थित: सर्वत: सौवर्ण: कुलगिरिराजो मेरुर्द्वीपायामसमुन्नाह: कर्णिकाभूत: कुवलयकमलस्य मूर्धनि द्वात्रिंशत् सहस्रयोजनविततो मूले षोडशसहस्रं तावतान्तर्भूम्यां प्रविष्ट: ॥ ७ ॥

Verse text

eṣāṁ madhye ilāvṛtaṁ nāmābhyantara-varṣaṁ yasya nābhyām avasthitaḥ sarvataḥ sauvarṇaḥ kula-giri-rājo merur dvīpāyāma-samunnāhaḥ karṇikā-bhūtaḥ kuvalaya-kamalasya mūrdhani dvā-triṁśat sahasra-yojana-vitato mūle ṣoḍaśa-sahasraṁ tāvat āntar-bhūmyāṁ praviṣṭaḥ.

Synonyms

eṣām — all these divisions of Jambūdvīpa ; madhye — among ; ilāvṛtam nāma — named Ilāvṛta-varṣa ; abhyantara-varṣam — the inner division ; yasya — of which ; nābhyām — in the navel ; avasthitaḥ — situated ; sarvataḥ — entirely ; sauvarṇaḥ — made of gold ; kula-giri-rājaḥ — the most famous among famous mountains ; meruḥ — Mount Meru ; dvīpa-āyāma-samunnāhaḥ — whose height is the same measurement as the width of Jambūdvīpa ; karṇikā-bhūtaḥ — existing as the pericarp ; kuvalaya — of this planetary system ; kamalasya — like a lotus flower ; mūrdhani — on the top ; dvā-triṁśat — thirty-two ; sahasra — thousand ; yojana — yojanas (eight miles each) ; vitataḥ — expanded ; mūle — at the base ; ṣoḍaśa-sahasram — sixteen thousand yojanas ; tāvat — so much ; āntaḥ-bhūmyām — within the earth ; praviṣṭaḥ — entered.

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.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In the center of these is Ilāvṛta, in the center of which is Meru, the king of mountains, made of gold, whose height is the length of Jambūdvīpa, and which acts as the pericarp of the lotus. At its top it measures 32,000 yojanas and at the base 16,000 yojanas. It extends 16,000 yojanas within the earth. Nābhyām means inside. The island is 100,000 yojanas long. That is the height of the mountain. At the base it spreads out for 16,000 yojanas. Since it extends 16,000 yojanas within the earth, 84,000 yojanas of Meru are visible above the ground.