Uttara Kuru

[John Powers]

Paul Kekai Manansala writes:
>
>Does anyone here have opinions on the location of Uttara Kuru?
>Please give your proposed boundaries and why you think that
>way.  I'm interested mainly in theories placing it somewhere near
>the subcontinent and not in Siberia, the North Pole or the Western
>hemisphere.  Respond to the list or by email.
>
I looked up some references to Uttarakuru when I saw it mentioned in a text
I translated. Here is the note I wrote about it:

According to Monier-Williams _A Sanskrit-English Dictionary_, p. 178), this
is one of the nine divisions of the world in traditional Indian cosmology.
This is the country of the northern Kurus, situated in the north of India,
and described as a country of eternal beatitude.  It is said to be square,
measuring 20,000  yojanas per side, and the beings who live there have
life-spans of 1,000 years.  In addition to their long lifespans, the
inhabitants are said to have exceptionally pleasant lives and to be
naturally virtuous.  See Visuddhimagga, ed. C.A.F. Rhys Davids (London:
Pali Text Society, 1975), p. 15.
   Monier-Williams (p. 294) identifies the Kurus as a people of India, and
states that Uttarakuru is the northernmost of the four mahaadviipas (great
continents), or principal divisions of the  world according to traditional
Indian cosmology.  Uttarakuru was probably thought to have been situated
near the country of the Pañcalas, beyond the northernmost range of the
Himalayas.

John Powers
Faculty of Asian Studies
Australian National University