Re: [INDOLOGY] The compound word bhūgola

[Toke Lindegaard Knudsen]

Dear Madhav,

Thank you for sending me this interesting text. Vādirāja certainly doesn’t use the word bhūgola in the sense of ‘the earth’s sphere,’ a spherical earth at the center of the universe. I’m wondering what bhūgola means to him. The text goes beyond a description of terrestrial geography and includes, for example, a description of the region of the stars (nakṣatragati; starting in verse 320) and a description of the various layers of the shell of the brahmāṇḍa is found toward the end of the text (starting in verse 345).

I wonder if Vādirāja means the entire brahmāṇḍa when he uses the word bhūgola?

I see that Vādirāja is a 16th-century Dvaita follower of Madhva.

Regarding the occurrences of bhūgola in the works of Rūpagosvāmin and Jīvagosvāmin, I agree that they probably go back to earlier uses of the word in texts they rely on. Going further, I wonder if their use of the word, along with the occurrences of the word in the Gītagovinda and the Gopālatāpanī-upaniṣad, can all be explained by the reliance of these texts and authors on the Bhāgavatapurāṇa (which uses the word five times)?

All best wishes,
Toke



> On Jun 26, 2018, at 16:58, Madhav Deshpande <mmdesh at umich.edu> wrote:
> 
> Dear Toke,
> 
> I have attached the pdf of Vādirāja's Bhūgolavarṇanam.  The word bhūgola also appears in Rūpagosvāmin's Bhakrirasāmr̥tasindhu.  That probably goes back to the use of this word in texts like the Gopālatāpanī Upaniṣad.
> 
> Madhv
> 
> Madhav M. Deshpande
> Professor Emeritus
> Sanskrit and Linguistics
> University of Michigan
> [Residence: Campbell, California]
> 
> 
> On Tue, Jun 26, 2018 at 7:40 AM Toke Lindegaard Knudsen <toke.knudsen at hum.ku.dk> wrote:
> Dear Madhav,
> 
> Thank you so much for your note. I noticed this usage of bhūgola in Asoke Chatterjee’s ‘Padma-purāṇa—A Study’:
> 
> https://archive.org/stream/PadmaPuranaAStudyAsokeChatterjeeSastri/Padma%20Purana%20A%20Study%20%20Asoke%20Chatterjee%20Sastri%20#page/n31/mode/2up/search/bhugola
> 
> The word bhūgola must have the same extended meaning of terrestrial geography in Bengali also.
> 
> Whether we can use this meaning of the word in passages from the Padmapurāṇa is another question.
> 
> Best wishes,
> Toke
> 
> 
> 
> > On Jun 26, 2018, at 16:01, Madhav Deshpande <mmdesh at umich.edu> wrote:
> > 
> > In modern Marathi, the word "bhūgola" is used in further extended meaning of "geography," and the Marathi books on geography routinely use this word.  However, the word "bhūmaṇḍal̥a" is used in the work of Rāmadāsa in the 17th century: "समर्थाचिया सेवका वक्र पाहे असा सर्व भूमंडळी कोण आहे."  "Maṇḍaḷa" and "Gola" are also used in Marathi in conjunction with Sūrya.
> > 
> > Madhav M. Deshpande
> > Professor Emeritus
> > Sanskrit and Linguistics
> > University of Michigan
> > [Residence: Campbell, California]
> > 
> > 
> > On Tue, Jun 26, 2018 at 1:58 AM Toke Lindegaard Knudsen via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
> > Dear all,
> > 
> > I’m interested in the compound word bhūgola (and related terms, such as bhuvo golam, dharāgola, mahīgola, etc.). The word gola means ‘ball’ or ‘globe,’ and the compound word bhūgola means ‘the earth’s sphere.’
> > 
> > The compound word bhūgola is used in the sense of ‘earth-sphere,’ ‘the earth’s sphere’ in astronomical texts since at least the Āryabhaṭīya (composed in 499 CE).
> > 
> > I’m looking for uses of this compound word in texts and contexts other than the astronomical tradition of India. So far I’m aware of these instances:
> > 
> > (1) The compound word bhūgola occurs in the some purāṇas. The Bhāgavatapurāṇa uses it five times; the Narasiṃhapurāṇa uses it twice; and the Brahmāṇḍapurāṇa uses the equivalent term mahīgola once.
> > 
> > (2) Four philosophical texts use the compound word:
> >   (a) Mokṣopaya (10th century) has dharāgola and bhūgola (Roland Steiner kindly helped me with the references from this work)
> >   (b) Tattvacintāmaṇi (12th century)
> >   (c) Nyāyasudhā (14th century)
> >   (d) Saṃkhyasūtravivaraṇa (a late commentary)
> > 
> > (3) The Gopālatāpanyupaniṣad (13th century or later) uses the compound word bhūgolacakra.
> > 
> > (4) The Gītagovinda (12th century) uses the compound word once.
> > 
> > (5) The Harivaṃśa uses it in one verse (a star-verse).
> > 
> > (6) Some Bengal Vaiṣṇava works use the compound word; for example, the Gopālacampū of Jīva Gosvāmin (16th century) uses bhūmigola once; Rūpa Gosvāmin (16th century) uses the compound word as well.
> > 
> > Does any of you know of other instances of the compound word bhūgola outside of the astronomical tradition? I’d greatly appreciate learning of instances I’ve missed.
> > 
> > Many thanks in advance.
> > 
> > With all best wishes,
> > Toke
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> <Vādirāja-Bhūgolavarṇanam.pdf>