Category:Yojanas
Theme Analysis
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains the breathtaking cosmological structure of the universe using the traditional measurement of the yojana, which is calculated to equal exactly eight miles. Throughout the Fifth Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the yojana is utilized to map the vast and intricate dimensions of the material creation. These detailed calculations reveal the staggering four-billion-mile diameter of the universe, the colossal dimensions of Mount Sumeru and the islands of Bhū-maṇḍala, and the precise vertical distances between the earthly realm, the sun, the moon, and the upper and lower planetary systems. By studying these measurements, a devotee gains a profound appreciation for the unimaginable scale, perfect mathematical order, and supreme majesty of the Lord's cosmic manifestation.
- The Diameter of the Universe: The total diameter of the universe is calculated to be fifty koṭi yojanas, which equals four billion miles. The sun is situated exactly in the middle of this vast space.
- Vertical Distances Between Planets: The yojana is used to measure the specific distances between planetary systems. For instance, the moon is situated 100,000 yojanas above the sun, and the lower planetary systems begin 70,000 yojanas below the earth.
- The Scale of Bhū-maṇḍala: The earthly planetary system, Bhū-maṇḍala, features massive islands and mountains. Jambūdvīpa alone spans 100,000 yojanas, demonstrating the immense scale of the cosmic geography.
- Hellish Punishments: Even the hellish planets are measured in yojanas. Sinful living entities are forced to travel thousands of yojanas in a matter of moments to suffer in vast lakes of punishment.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Cosmic Distances and the Calculation of Yojanas.
Subcategories
This category has only the following subcategory.
Pages in category "Yojanas"
The following 68 pages are in this category, out of 68 total.
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A
- Above Angaraka by another 200,000 yojanas is the planet called Brhaspati-graha (Jupiter), which is always very favorable for qualified brahmanas. Above Brhaspati-graha is the planet Sanaiscara (Saturn), which is very inauspicious
- Above Janaloka by 80,000,000 yojanas is Tapoloka, and above Tapoloka by 120,000,000 yojanas is Satyaloka
- Above the moon by a distance of 200,000 yojanas are some stars, and above these stars is Sukra-graha (Venus), whose influence is always auspicious for the inhabitants of the entire universe
- Above the rays of the sunshine by a distance of 100,000 yojanas (800,000 miles) is the moon, which travels at a speed faster than that of the sun
- According to Viraraghava Acarya, the breadth of the first island (Jambudvipa, situated on the Bhu-mandala planetary system) is 100,000 yojanas. One yojana equals eight miles, and therefore the breadth of the first island is calculated to be 800,000 miles
- After death he is put into the most abominable hell, known as Krmibhojana. In that hell is a lake 100,000 yojanas (800,000 miles) wide and filled with worms. He becomes a worm in that lake and feeds on the other worms there, who also feed on him
- As in an oil-pressing machine, this first axle is attached to a second axle, which is one-fourth as long (3,937,500 yojanas, or 31,500,000 miles). The upper end of this second axle is attached to Dhruvaloka by a rope of wind
- As Sumeru Mountain is surrounded by Jambudvipa, Jambudvipa is also surrounded by an ocean of salt water. The breadth of Jambudvipa is 100,000 yojanas (800,000 miles), and the breadth of the saltwater ocean is the same
B
- Below the abodes of the Yaksas and Raksasas by a distance of 100 yojanas (800 miles) is the planet earth. Its upper limits extend as high as swans, hawks, eagles and similar large birds can fly
- Below the earth by 70,000 yojanas are the seven lower planetary systems called Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala and Patala. Below these lower planets by 30,000 yojanas, Sesa Naga is lying on the Garbhodaka Ocean
- Below the earth by 70,000 yojanas are the seven lower planetary systems. Below these lower planets by 30,000 yojanas, Sesa Naga is lying on the Garbhodaka Ocean. That ocean is 249,800,000 yojanas deep
I
- In Jambudvipa there are nine divisions of land, each with a length of 9,000 yojanas (72,000 miles). There are eight mountains that mark the boundaries of these divisions and separate them nicely
- In the middle of the summit of Meru is the township of Lord Brahma. Each of its four sides is calculated to extend for ten million yojanas (eighty million miles). It is made entirely of gold, and therefore learned scholars and sages call it Satakaumbhi
- In the opinion of Vijayadhvaja, the extent of Rahu should be twice that of the moon, or 40,000 yojanas
- In the same way, west and east of Ilavrta-varsa are two great mountains named Malyavan and Gandhamadana respectively. These two mountains, which are 2,000 yojanas (16,000 miles) high, extend as far as Nila Mountain in the north and Nisadha in the south
M
- My dear King, in his orbit through Bhu-mandala, the sun-god traverses a distance of 95,100,000 yojanas (760,800,000 miles) at the speed of 2,000 yojanas and two krosas (16,004 miles) in a moment
- My dear King, the carriage of the sun-god's chariot is estimated to be 3,600,000 yojanas (28,800,000 miles) long and one-fourth as wide (900,000 yojanas, or 7,200,000 miles)
O
- 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
- On Salmalidvipa there is a salmali tree, from which the island takes its name. That tree is as broad and tall as the plaksa tree - in other words 100 yojanas (800 miles) broad and 1,100 yojanas (8,800 miles) tall
- On the eastern side of Sumeru Mountain are two mountains named Jathara and Devakuta, which extend to the north and south for 18,000 yojanas (144,000 miles)
- On the lower slopes of Mandara Mountain is a mango tree named Devacuta. It is 1,100 yojanas high. Mangoes as big as mountain peaks and as sweet as nectar fall from the top of this tree for the enjoyment of the denizens of heaven
- On the southern side of Sumeru are two mountains named Kailasa and Karavira, 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 Trisrnga and Makara
- Outside Lokaloka Mountain is the tract of land known as Aloka-varsa, which extends for the same breadth as the area within the mountain - in other words, 125,000,000 yojanas (one billion miles)
- Outside the ocean of clarified butter is another island, known as Krauncadvipa, which has a width of 1,600,000 yojanas (12,800,000 miles), twice the width of the ocean of clarified butter
- Outside the ocean of liquor is another island, known as Kusadvipa, which is 800,000 yojanas (6,400,000 miles) wide, twice as wide as the ocean of liquor
- Outside the ocean of milk is another island, Sakadvipa, which has a width of 3,200,000 yojanas (25,600,000 miles). As Krauncadvipa is surrounded by its own ocean of milk, Sakadvipa is surrounded by an ocean of churned yogurt as broad as the island itself
- Outside the ocean of yogurt is another island, known as Puskaradvipa, which is 6,400,000 yojanas (51,200,000 miles) wide, twice as wide as the ocean of yogurt. It is surrounded by an ocean of very tasteful water as broad as the island itself
S
- Since the sun is in the middle of the universe, the distance between the sun and the edge of the universe is calculated to be twenty-five koti yojanas - two billion miles
- Standing like flagstaffs on the summits of these four mountains are a mango tree, a rose apple tree, a kadamba tree and a banyan tree. Those trees are calculated to have a width of 100 yojanas (800 miles) and a height of 1,100 yojanas (8,800 miles)
- Sukadeva Gosvami continued: My dear King, 1,300,000 yojanas (10,400,000 miles) above the planets of the seven sages is the place that learned scholars describe as the abode of Lord Visnu
- Sukadeva Gosvami continued; My dear King, as stated before, the learned say that the sun travels over all sides of Manasottara Mountain in a circle whose length is 95,100,000 yojanas (760,800,000 miles)
- Sukadeva Gosvami said: My dear King, I have thus far described the diameter of the universe (fifty crores of yojanas, or four billion miles) and its general characteristics, according to the estimations of learned scholars
- Surrounding Mount Sumeru are eight mountains, each extending for eighteen thousand yojanas
T
- The air carrying the scent from the mouths of those who drink that honey perfumes the land for a hundred yojanas around
- The chariot's horses, which are named after Gayatri and other Vedic meters, are harnessed by Arunadeva to a yoke that is also 900,000 yojanas wide. This chariot continuously carries the sun-god
- The distance between the sun and the circumference of Anda-golaka, the globe of the universe, is estimated to be twenty-five koti yojanas (two billion miles)
- The distance from the sun to Satyaloka is 233,800,000 yojanas, or 1,870,400,000 miles
- The distance from the sun to the earth is 100,000 yojanas
- The distance indicated by the word sadhikani is panca-vimsati-sahasradhikani, or 25,000 yojanas. That plus two and a half crores and twelve and a half laksa of yojanas is the distance the sun travels between each two cities - from Devadhani to Samyamani
- The moon is situated 100,000 yojanas above the rays of the sunshine. Day and night on the heavenly planets and Pitrloka are calculated according to its waning and waxing
- The sun is situated (vertically) in the middle of the universe, in the area between Bhurloka and Bhuvarloka, which is called antariksa, outer space. The distance between the sun and the circumference of the universe is twenty-five koti yojanas
- The total orbit of the sun is four times that distance, or 95,100,000 yojanas (760,800,000 miles)
- The universe measures five hundred million yojanas. Its length and breadth are one and the same
- The universe, which measures five hundred million yojanas in diameter, rests on one of His hoods like a mustard seed
- The Vaikuntha planets begin 26,200,000 yojanas (209,600,000 miles) above Satyaloka. Thus the Visnu Purana describes that the covering of the universe is 260,000,000 yojanas (2,080,000,000 miles) away from the sun
- 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
- The word koti means ten million, and a yojana is eight miles. The diameter of the universe is fifty koti yojanas - four billion miles
- There are many stars located 200,000 yojanas (1,600,000 miles) above the moon
- There are many stars located 200,000 yojanas (1,600,000 miles) above the moon. By the supreme will of the SPG, 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 is then another island - Salmalidvipa - twice as broad as Plaksadvipa (400,000 yojanas, or 3,200,000 miles) and surrounded by an equally broad body of water called Surasagara, the ocean that tastes like liquor
- These two mountains, which are 2,000 yojanas (16,000 miles) high, extend as far as Nila Mountain in the north and Nisadha in the south. They indicate the borders of Ilavrta-varsa and also the varsas known as Ketumala and Bhadrasva
- This chapter describes the planet Rahu, which is 10,000 yojanas (80,000 miles) below the sun, and it also describes Atala and the other lower planetary systems. Rahu is situated below the sun and moon
- This comes (the distance the sun travels between each two cities of Devadhani to Samyamani) to 23,775,000 yojanas, or 190,200,000 miles. The total orbit of the sun is four times that distance, or 95,100,000 yojanas - 760,800,000 miles
- This river falls a distance of 10,000 yojanas, from the summit of Merumandara to the southern side of Ilavrta, and floods the entire land of Ilavrta with juice
- Thus he has to pass ninety-nine thousand yojanas within two or three moments, and then he is at once engaged in the torturous punishment which he is destined to suffer
- Thus the chariot of the sun-god, which is trayimaya, or worshiped by the words om bhur bhuvah svah, travels through the four residences mentioned above at a speed of 3,400,800 yojanas (27,206,400 miles) in a muhurta
W
- When the sun travels from Devadhani, the residence of Indra, to Samyamani, the residence of Yamaraja, it travels 23,775,000 yojanas (190,200,000 miles) in fifteen ghatikas (six hours)
- When we take into account that the moon is 100,000 yojanas, or 800,000 miles, above the rays of the sunshine, it is very surprising that the modern excursions to the moon could be possible
- With great deliberation, they have established the truth that the distance between Sumeru and the mountain known as Lokaloka is one fourth of the diameter of the universe - or, in other words, 125,000,000 yojanas (1 billion miles)