Although the reader may automatically assume that the depiction of the Earth in the above video is a true image of the Earth, a few hours of research will show that all of the images we assume to be authentic photographs or videos of the so-called Earth, are in fact, no more than images produced here on Earth using computer generated images (cgi), and special effects that are no different from those used in any sci-fi movie.

Contrary to what Radha-Mohan dasa has presented here, the Surya-siddhanta does not describe the Earth as a globe, and certainly not a globe that spins at over a thousand miles per hour. Neither idea is found in the text of Surya-siddhanta . Consistent with the Puranic tradition, the Surya-siddhanta names the Earth as Bhu-mandala (Ss 12.68) which means 'Earth-circle', not 'Earth-globe'; indeed the text actually describes the Earth as round like a wheel cakrakaram vasundharam (Ss 12.54). We shall later discuss these two verses in greater detail.

In any case, the idea that the Earth has no upper or lower side contradicts both the Srimad Bhagavatam's teaching that all the stars and planets rotate 'above' the surface of the Earth circle, and that Ananta-sesha holds the Earth from 'below' (which clearly indicates that the Vedic Earth has an upper and lower side). As we shall see, the verse has been translated and presented in a manner that undermines the entire Vedic world-view regarding the arrangement and movement of the planets and stars.

Regarding whether the Earth has an upper and lower side, in his discussion with Maitreya Rsi, Vidura specifically asks Maitreya Rsi to describe the Earth (bhumeh) and the situation of the lokas both above (upari) and below (adhah) the Earth (bhuh-lokasya).

"O son of Mitra, kindly describe how the planets (lokah) are situated above (upari) the earth (bhumeh) as well as underneath it (adhah), and also please mention their measurement (pramanam) as well as that of the earthly planets (Bhuh-lokasya)." (SB 3.7.26)

Although Srila Prabhupada has translated the Sanskrit word lokah as 'planets', the only lokas 'underneath' the Earth are those which are situated in the huge underground section of the Bhu-mandala itself. These include the bila-svarga (subterranean heavens) and naraka (hells). They are not 'planets' as we may have once thought of them (i.e. globes floating in space), but are rather described as massive underground regions within the interior of the great Earth-circle (Bhu-mandala). We have discussed the issue in a paper called, What's Below the Earth?.

As we shall see presently, both Surya-siddhanta and Srimad Bhagavatam describe all the planets and stars as being situated above the Earth. The modern idea that the Earth is a globe floating in space, and that there are other globe-shaped planets and stars below the Earth, is not an idea that is found in either Srimad Bhagavatam or Surya-siddhanta .

In any case, to say that the Earth is a globe, and that top and bottom are only relative positions, is completely contrary to the Srimad Bhagavatam's teachings that 'above' (upari) refers to the upper part of the universe, and 'below' (adhah) refers to its lower part. Before explaining this point in detail, let us look at how the Sanskrit word gola is used in Surya-siddhanta .

THE USE OF THE WORD GOLA IN SURYA-SIDDHANTA

The Sanskrit to the above cited verse from Danavir Goswami's translation to the Surya-siddhanta reads as follows:

sarvatraiva mahigole svasthanamuparisthitam/
manyante khe yato golastasyakvorddham kvavapyadhah//53//

"As the shape of the earth is spherical (vartula), people in each place think themselves to be uppermost. But as the globe of earth is situated in ether, what then is its upper and lower side?" (Ss 12.53)

First of all the verse does not contain the word vartula, nor could I find the word in the rest of the text. In any case, the word vartula can mean circle as well as sphere according to context. The name for the Earth used in this verse is mahi-gole. Mahi is a name for the Earth and gola means 'round'.

In order to ascertain whether the word gola used here is referring to the roundness of a globe, or to the roundness of a circle, we can first of all say that the word gola is used through-out the Surya-siddhanta to indicate 'circle', not 'globe'. For example, Danavir Goswami's translation to Surya-siddhanta , Chapter 12, verse 62, reads as follows:

tadantarepi sastyante ksayavrddhi aharnisoh/
parato viparitoyam bhagolah parivarttate//62//

"In both directions, in the intermediate region, the decrease and increase of the day and the night is limited to 60 dandas. Above that, in both places, the sphere of the signs (bhagola) traverses in a contrary manner." (Ss 12.62)

Here bha-golah refers to the circle of stars or constellations. In Sanskrit the word bhu refers to the Earth whereas the word bha refers to the luminaries. The Srimad Bhagavatam, for example, refers to the luminaries as bha-gana (see SB 3.19.19; SB 3.29.40; SB 5.23.3). In the above verse from Surya-siddhanta the circle of luminaries is called bha-gola. In another series of verses the word gola is again used to refer to the circular orbits of the luminaries. Danavir Goswami's translation reads as follows:

yamya golasritah karyah kakshadharaddvayorapi/
yamyodaggolasamsthanam bhanamabhijitastatha//8//
saptarsinamagastyasya brahmadinam ca kalpayet/
madhye vaisuvati kaksha sarvesameva samsthita//9//

"Likewise draw the orbit-circle for Abhijit and other 27 constellations, which spread through out the northern and southern hemispheres, on the above mentioned base-orbit-circle. Likewise draw the orbit-circles for Saptarshi, Agastya, Brmhahridaya and other constellations. At the middle of everything there should be the equinoctial orbits (vishuvtikaksha)." (Ss 13.8-9)

Danavir Goswami has not presented any word for word synonyms for the Sanskrit used here, but there appears to be no sense in which the word gola indicates globe. We shall later show that the idea of a southern and northern 'hemisphere' (the upper and lower halves of a sphere) bears no relation to the Vedic sense of 'north' and 'south' which are directions along the horizontal axis.

SURYA-SIDDHANTA DESCRIBES A CIRCULAR EARTH

Considering the above instances wherein the word gola is used, when the Surya-siddhanta uses the name Bhu-gola to refer to the Earth, one should not automatically presume that gola means globe; on the contrary by looking at the context of several other verses we can clearly ascertain that Bhu-gola is referring to a circular Earth. We have already described in Part 3 of this paper why Surya-siddhanta's description of Bhu-gola refers to a circular Earth (see above link). There are several other verses in the Surya-siddhanta that confirm this conclusion. For example, the following verse from Surya-siddhanta describes the shape of the Earth (vasundhara) to be in the shape of a cakra (cakrakaram) . Danavir Goswami's translation reads as follows:

alpakayataya lokah svasthanat sarvatomukham/
pasyantivrttamapyetam cakrakaram vasundharam//54//

"Because of the smallness of their size, people see this earth as circular in all four directions." (Ss 12.54)

Here the Earth (vasundhara) is clearly said to be in the shape of a cakra (cakrakaram) . In all the other instances in Surya-siddhanta when the word cakra is used, the context indicates that it means circle. For example, verse 73 of Chapter Twelve refers to the bha-chakra meaning circle of the constellations (Ss 12.73). The luminaries form a great circle or wheel (cakra) in the sky. There is no doubt that the word cakra means circle or disc; one of Sri-Krishna's weapons is the cakra or disc:

"At that point the Supreme Lord stood up and checked His devotees. He then angrily sent forth His razor-sharp disc and severed the head of His enemy as he was attacking." (SB 10.74.43)

Here the word for the sharp-edged disc-like weapon which severed the head of Sisupala is called cakra (sirah ksuranta-cakrena jahara). Again in Srimad Bhagavatam the word cakra is used when referring to the conquest of all directions (dik-cakra-jayina) on the Bhu-mandala or circular Earth:

"Only one who has conquered all opponents in every direction can perform the Rajasuya sacrifice, O almighty one. Thus, in my opinion, conquering Jarasandha will serve both purposes." (SB 10.71.3)

The synonyms for this verse are:

dik—of directions; cakra—the complete circle; jayina—by one who has conquered.

As we shall see presently, the directions north, south, east, and west refer to locations on the horizontal axis of the Bhu-mandala, and therefore it is logical to say that one conquers all directions by conquering the complete circle (cakra) of the Earth. Thus the statement cakrakaram vasundharam in Surya-siddhanta is a consistent and appropriate way to describe the circular shape (cakrakaram) of the Earth (vasundhara).

The skulduggery employed by Western scholars in the translation of Sanskrit texts is evident in Reverend Ebeneezer Burgess's original English translation of the Surya-siddhanta from 1860 which completely twists the meaning of the verse under discussion. Burgess's translation reads as follows:

"And everywhere upon the globe of the Earth, men think their own place to be uppermost: but since it is a globe in the ether, where should there be an upper, or where an underside of it? Owing to the littleness of their own bodies, men, looking in every direction from the position they occupy, behold this earth, although it is globular, as having the form of a wheel." (Ss 12.53-54)

Although the verse clearly says that the Earth is in the shape of a cakra or wheel, Burgess works from an original presumption that gola means 'globe of the Earth', and then states that because of their small size men mistakenly perceive the shape of the Earth to be circular like a wheel (cakra). In other words, Burgess wishes to imply that the Earth looks flat to our perception, but only because we are small in relation to the Earth and thus cannot see its huge spherical form. However, Burgess has simply superimposed his idea of a globular Earth onto the verse which is actually stating that the Bhu-gola (round Earth) is circular like the shape of a wheel (cakra). We see the Earth as spreading out in a circular fashion (like a wheel) because that is its actual shape.

This understanding that the Earth has the form of a cakra or disc-shape is consistent with another verse from Surya-siddhanta wherein the name Bhu-mandala (Earth-circle) is used to name the Earth in question. Danavir Goswami's translation reads as follows:

bhumandalat pancadase bhage deve'thavasure/
uparistadvrajatyarkah saumya yamyayanantagah//68//

"The sun passes directly overhead in the 15th part of the circumference of earth (Bhu-mandala) during his northern motion (uttara ayana) in the hemisphere of demigods (devabhaga) and his southern motion (dakshinayana) in the hemisphere of demons (asurabhaga)." (Ss 12.68)

Here the name used for the Earth is Bhu-mandala meaning 'Earth-circle', not the 'circumference of the Earth' as the translation states. The use of the name Bhu-mandala is important because it informs us that the speaker of Surya-siddhanta is presenting the Earth according to the traditional Puranic name, and as brahmanas will naturally understand it. All of the brahmanas at the time would have been aware that the Bhu-mandala is characteristic by seven islands and seven oceans, and that Bharata-varsha is located on the first of these islands called Jambudvipa.

THE SURYA-SIDDHANTA DESCRIBES THE PLANETS AND STARS AS ROTATING ABOVE THE EARTH

As we shall see presently, the terms 'hemisphere of demigods' and 'hemisphere of demons' (used in the above translation to Ss 12.68) is an inappropriate translation of the above verse. The word 'hemisphere' implies either the upper or lower half of a globe-shaped Earth, whereas Surya-siddhanta itself describes uttarayana and daksinayana as the Sun's northern and southern motion above a circular Earth. During the course of the year when the Sun moves closer to Mount Meru it is called uttarayana or northern motion; when it moves further away from Mount Meru it is called dakshinayana or southern movement (Ss 14.9). The movement of the Sun either towards or away from Mount Meru causes the seasons. Since the Sun is moving above the circular plane of Bhu-mandala, it would be folly to speak of a southern or northern 'hemisphere' which is clearly a term that refers to the upper and lower halves of a spherical globe. As confirmed in Chapter Twelve, verses 38-42 of Surya-siddhanta , the Sun is described as moving above (upari) Bhadrashva-varsha, Ketumala-varsha, Uttara-kuru-varsha, and Bharata-varsha which are situated at the four cardinal points (east, west, north, and south) of Jambudvipa. Verse 42 states:

tasamuparigo yati vishuvastho divakarah

"The sun travels on a tract above them" (Ss 12.42)

In this series of verses (Ss 12.38-42) it says the Sun moves above (upari) the varshas of Bharata-varsha, Uttarakuru-varsha, Ketumala varsha and Bhadrasva-varsha. The image below by Soolabha Doyle illustrates the Surya-siddhanta's description of the Sun creating day and night in the different varshas of Jambudvipa.

These varshas form part of the colossal circular landscape of Jambudvipa which is described in Srimad Bhagavatam as having a diameter of 100,000 yojanas/800,000 miles. If the Earth-globe were revolving around the Sun—or as some members of ISKCON foolishly argue that the Sun is orbiting around the Earth-globe—then why does the Surya-siddhanta say the Sun is actually circling 'above' the circular landscape of Jambudvipa? As an aside, we should note that only 5,000 years ago King Pariksit was still governing these nine varshas of Jambudvipa:

"Maharaja Pariksit then conquered all parts of the earthly planet—Bhadrashva, Ketumala, Bharata, the northern Kuru, Kimpurusha, etc.—and exacted tributes from their respective rulers." (SB 1.16.12)

When we take into consideration the Srimad Bhagavatam's calculation for the size of these areas, we can understand from this one verse alone that there are more areas on the Earth-circle than we currently have access to. Although representatives of the Temple of Vedic Planetarium are aware of the Srimad Bhagavatam's description of these lands, they unfortunately do not emphasize the point that our local area of the Earth is just a small part of a much larger Earth plane.

Although the Surya-siddhanta states that the Sun is above (upari) the Earth-circle, there are certain members of ISKCON who argue that the Sun and other planets are rotating around the so-called Earth-globe. Sadaputa dasa, for example, writes:

"The Surya-siddhanta treats the Earth as a globe fixed in space and it describes the seven traditional planets (the sun, the moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn) as moving in orbits around the Earth." (Vedic Cosmography and Astronomy, VCA 1, The Astronomical Siddhantas)

Both these statements are wrong for the following reasons; firstly because the Surya-siddhanta's description of the Bhu-gola in question (see Ss 12.32-42) includes the names of four of the nine varshas of Jambudvipa, namely Bhadrashva-varsha, Ketumala-varsha, Uttara-kuru-varsha, and Bharata-varsha. As mentioned, the nine varshas altogether form a circular landscape that has a diameter of 100,000 yojanas (800,000 miles). Thus the Bhu-gola in question is certainly not the globe of Western cosmology. The Surya-siddhanta describes Bharata-varsha as part of the Bhu-gola, not the Bhu-gola itself (as certain members of ISKCON mistakenly argue). Secondly, the text itself clearly describes the planets as being above this circular landscape, not orbiting around a so-called Earth globe. The Surya-siddhanta describes that the planets are one below the other (as Srimad Bhagavatam also describes), not that they are all on the same orbital plane (the so-called solar system) as the Western cosmology describes. Danavir Goswami's translation to Chapter Twelve, verses 29-31, reads as follows:

brahmand madhye paridhi rvyomakakshabhidhiyate/
tanmadhye bhramanam bhana madhodhah kramashastatha//30//
mandamarejyabhuputra suryashukrendujendavah/
paribhramantyadho'dhasthah siddhavidyadhara ghanah//31//

"The middle inner circumference of the Brahmanda is called (vyomakaksha) or the spatial orbit where the constellations revolve. Below that, revolve, in order, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the sun, Venus, Mercury and the moon. Below that, are situated siddha vidyadhars (the perfected possessors of knowledge) and below that, at the lowest (orbit), the clouds are situated." (Ss 12.29-31)

Reverend Burgess's translation to these three verses reads as follows:

"This Brahma egg is hollow; within it is the universe consisting of the earth, sky, etc.; it has the form of a sphere, like a receptacle made of a pair of cauldrons (29) A circle within the Brahma-egg is styled the orbit of the ether (vyoman): within that is the revolution of the asterisms (bha, and likewise in order one below the other, (30) Revolve Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon, below in succession, the Perfected (siddha), the Possessors of Knowledge (Vidyadhara) and the clouds." (Ss 12.29-31)

The order of the planets is different from that given in Srimad Bhagavatam, but the text nonetheless states that the planets are one below the other, not that they are all circling around each on the same orbital plane as Sadaputa dasa argues, and as they are presented in the Western solar system. From the above verses it is clear that when Surya-siddhanta refers to the directions 'above' and 'below', it means exactly that, and that 'above' and 'below' (or 'upper' and 'lower') are not merely relative ideas depending on ones location on a so-called Earth globe...

UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'UP', 'DOWN', AND 'UPSIDE-DOWN'

Let us look at Danavir Goswami's translation to the original verse in question once again:

sarvatraiva mahigole svasthanamuparisthitam/
manyante khe yato golastasyakvorddham kvavapyadhah//53//

"As the shape of the earth is spherical (vartula), people in each place think themselves to be uppermost. But as the globe of earth is situated in ether, what then is its upper and lower side?" (Ss 12.53)

The verse has been translated without taking into consideration the context of the preceding verse which states:

anyepisamasutrastha manyante'dhah parasparam/
bhadrasvaketumalastha lankasidhapurasritah//52//

"Those who are located on the same line (samasntrastha) regard each other as being (situated) below. As for example, the inhabitants of Bhadrasva or Ketumala, or those of Lanka and the inhabitants of the perfected place are located on the same line." (Ss 12.52)

The city of Lanka is in Bharata-varsha which is the southern part of Jambudvipa, and the city of the perfected beings (sidhapurasritah) is in Uttara-kuru-varsha which is in the northern part of Jambudvipa. The verse is describing two cities at opposite ends of the circular landscape of Jambudvipa which according to Srimad Bhagavatam has a diameter of 100,000 yojanas (800,000 miles). The verse actually states that they are on the same line (samasntrastha). Bhadrasva and Ketumala are also the names of two prominent varshas situated at the east and west of Jambudvipa. Despite this series of verses describing the horizontal axis of the circular landscape of Jambudvipa, the manner of translating the above cited verse (Ss 12.53) is obviously to give the impression that we live on a globe, and that 'upper' and 'lower' are simply relative terms according to whether one lives on the top of the ball or the bottom of the ball. Thus people in North America are led to believe they are on the upper side of the Earth globe, and whilst people in Australia (though they may refer to themselves as being 'down under') certainly do not feel they are upside-down in relation to those in the northern hemisphere—hence the translation of the above verse suggests that 'up' and 'down' on the Earth globe are simply relative conceptions according to one's location. The translation of the verse intends to say that the idea of there being a specific top and bottom to the Earth is irrelevant since where-ever one stands one considers oneself to be uppermost; as stated in the translation: 'But as the globe of the Earth is situated in ether, what then is its upper and lower side?'

In this conception a person in the southern hemisphere would be looking 'up' at a different sky from those situated in the northern hemisphere. However the idea is completely contradictory to both Srimad Bhagavatam and Surya-siddhanta which state that all the stars rotate in circles above the Earth, not that there are another series of stars and planets below the so-called Earth globe. The only thing below the Earth is Ananta-sesha who holds the great Earth-circle from beneath; Below Ananta-sesha is the unfathomable Garbhodaka Ocean which fills the bottom part of the universe.

In the above depiction of the Earth, people are situated upside-down in relation to one another. Although the Sanskrit language contains words for 'upside-down', such terminology is never used to describe the situation of people living on the Earth. For example, Srimad Bhagavatam describes Krishna turning a cart upside-down:

"Once, when only three months old, little Krishna was crying and kicking up His feet as He lay beneath a huge cart. Then the cart fell and turned upside-down simply because it was struck by the tip of His toe." (SB 10.26.5)

Here it says that the cart was turned upside-down (viparyastam). Thus although the Vedic literature has terms for upside down, we never find any description that humans on different parts of the Earth are upside-down in relation to each other. In Vedic literature we hear that some are upon the surface of the Earth (bhu-tale), some are 'below' (adhah) the surface of the Earth, and some are 'above' (upari) the surface of the Earth, but we never hear that those on one part of the Earth are 'upside-down' in relation to those on another part. Rather all the lokas (including the underground realms of the nagas and asuras) have a horizontal axis upon which the inhabitants stand; thus the asuras are described as being below or beneath (adhastat) the Earth, not upside-down in relation to those on the surface.

The concept of humans living upside-down in relation to each other is never discussed in any of the Puranas or by any of the acharyas. Such inverted ideas are part of the illogical, irrational, and unnatural ideas propagated by the asuras to literally turn things topsy-turvy, and confuse everyone about the orderly nature of Sri-Krishna's creation. The asura nature is to turn sacred images upside-down, as for example, when the Christian cross is turned upside-down during a satanic ritual; the same mentality is evident in the depiction of the globular Earth with half of the population depicted upside-down in relation to the other half. Sri-Krishna warns: raksasim asurim caiva prakrtim mohinim sritah—"Those who are thus bewildered are attracted by demonic and atheistic views." (Bg 9.12). Followers of Sri-Krishna are advised not to be captivated and bewildered by the useless speculations of the asuras. In the Vedic universe up means up, and down means down.

Whilst discussing the universal form, Sukadeva Goswami says that there are seven lokas in the upper part of the universe, and seven in the lower part of the universe:

"Great philosophers imagine that the complete planetary systems in the universe are displays of the different upper and lower limbs of the universal body of the Lord." (SB 2.5.36)

Here Sukadeva Goswami says adhah sapta saptordhvam. The synonyms for this verse are adhah—downwards; sapta—seven systems; sapta urdhvam—and seven systems upwards. In the next four verses (SB 2.5.38-41), Sukadeva Goswami names all the fourteen lokas stating that Satyaloka is the head of the universal form (murdhabhih satyalokas), and Patalaloka is the sole of the feet of the universal form (patalam pada-talata). As with any person, the head is at the top of the body, and the feet are at the bottom. If there was no particular up and down in the universe, it would not make sense to say that Satyaloka is the head of the universal form (situated at the top of the universe), and Patalaloka is the feet (situated at the lower part of the universe). ISKCON's presentation of the Earth as a globe with no upper or lower side goes against the Vedic world view that the lokas are all vertically arranged one above the other, with Satyaloka at the top and Patalaloka at the bottom. In the name of presenting 'Vedic cosmology', certain members of the society are actually presenting the blasphemous upside-down world-view of the asuras. Although the word 'blasphemous' may seem a rather heavy word to use in this instance, there is indeed something diabolical in placing a sacred object upside down; imagine, for example, if someone turned a framed photograph of Srila Prabhupada upside down; what would that action indicate about the person's attitude to Srila Prabhupada? In the same way, the human form of life is one of Krishna's sacred creations, and the asura attempt to make people believe that they live upside down in relation to one another is yet another offence to the creation and the Creator.

SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN STAR ROTATIONS

Those members of ISKCON who argue that the Earth is a globe with no actual upper or lower side can point to some differences in the northern and southern stars which would seem to indicate that people in the southern part of the world are looking at a different sky from those in the northern part. However, this idea contradicts the Srimad Bhagavatam's teaching that all the stars and planets are above the plane of the gigantic Earth circle, and move around the Polestar keeping Dhruva to their right. Sri-Krishna Himself explains His creation in this way: The Supreme Personality of Godhead continued: My dear Dhruva, I shall award you the glowing planet known as the polestar, which will continue to exist even after the dissolution at the end of the millennium. No one has ever ruled this planet, which is surrounded by all the solar systems, planets, and stars. All the luminaries in the sky circumambulate this planet, just as bulls tread around a central pole for the purpose of crushing grains. Keeping the polestar to their right, all the stars inhabited by the great sages like Dharma, Agni, Kasyapa and Sukra circumambulate this planet, which continues to exist even after the dissolution of all others. (SB 4.9.20-2)

caranti—move; dakshini-kritya—keeping it to their right; bhramantah—circumambulating; yat—which planet; satarakah—with all the stars.

Here Sri-Krishna says all the luminaries are moving in the same direction keeping Dhruva to their right which means they are all moving east to west. In the depiction below by Danavir Goswami we see all the stars and planets located above the plane of the Earth circle, and all moving in the same direction around Dhruva-loka.

As can be ascertained from the above image of the seven islands of Bhu-mandala, we all stand on the same horizontal surface and look up at the same sky. The Bhu-mandala is held from below by Ananta-sesha.

The image below from the Temple of Vedic Planetarium promotional video likewise shows all the planets and stars moving in circles above the gigantic Bhu-mandala.

The Surya-siddhanta also states that all the luminaries move in the same direction:

pragesa mudayah pascadastodrkkarm purvavat/
gataisya divasa praptirbhanubhuktya sadaivahi//17//

The constellations rise in the east and set in the west. Determine the measure of days as said in the verse 10 using the akshadrkkarmas (correction in polar longitude to yield a point on the ecliptic rising and setting with the constellation) on the daily motion of the sun. (Ss 9.17)

It is really quite astonishing that despite producing images that present the Srimad Bhagavatam's description of the planetary arrangement, members of ISKCON continue to act contrarily to these teachings by presenting the Earth as a globe with stars placed below the so-called Earth globe, and apparently moving in counter clockwise direction around a so-called Southern Polestar.

As Sri-Krishna explains all the stars move clockwise around Dhruvaloka (the North Polestar) as seen in the image below.

Although all the stars move east to west around Dhruvaloka, if one looks up at the sky whilst looking in the southern direction one will see the stars moving apparently in a different way than if one looks in the northern direction. This is simply due to the circular motion of the stars, and the relative direction in which one is looking. Again, according to one's relative location in either the southern and northern directions, certain stars will be visible and others not, but this is not because people in Australia are at the bottom of a globe and looking 'up' at a different sky from those in the top part of a globe—it is simply a question of one's limited perspective of all the stars situated above. Since both Srimad Bhagavatam and the Surya-siddhanta state that all the stars are above the Earth, and that they all follow the same motion, members of ISKCON cannot foolishly argue that the apparent difference in stars is proof that the Earth is a globe, and that people in the 'southern hemisphere' are looking 'up' at a whole different set of stars that are situated in the lower part of the universe. Taking into consideration Sri-Krishna's description of the luminaries moving in one direction, members of ISKCON cannot be allowed to present any bogus idea that contradicts the Lord's own description of how his creation works. The above interpolated verse from Surya-siddhanta that supposedly 'proves' that the Earth is a globe with no particular upper or lower side not only contradicts the Srimad Bhagavatam's teachings, but completely undermines the Vedic world-view regarding the arrangement and movement of the stars and planets.

Since both the Puranas and Surya-siddhanta describe the stars and planets moving 'above' the Earth, it is insensible to say that the Surya-siddhanta describes the Earth as a globe with no particular upper or lower side. The Earth has a horizontal surface upon which all its inhabitants stand; the stars and planets are 'above' the surface of the Earth whilst the asuras are 'below' the surface—meaning they live in the underground or interior of the Earth. Like Srimad Bhagavatam the Surya-siddhanta describes the nagas and asuras as living beneath the surface of the Earth in huge underground realms. The Surya-siddhanta states: tadantara putah sapta nagasurasamasrayah—Within this Earth lie the seven underworlds inhabited by the snakes (naga) and demons (asura) (Ss 12.32). Thus below our feet are the huge underground realms of bila-svaraga and naraka that go down and down for hundreds of thousands of miles. Below that is Ananta-sesha who holds the entire Earth from beneath. It is not that we live on a globe with no particular upper or lower side. Therefore, whether we are located in North America (north) or in Australia (south), we all stand on the same plane and look up at the same sky. Due to be being located in different places, we see the stars from different perspectives. Depending on where we are on the Earth's surface we can some stars and not others; this is due to having a limited perspective of the entire circle of stars above. The difference in apparent motion of the stars is due to perspective. For those interested, a number of videos can be found that help explain the apparent difference in motion of star rotations from a flat-Earth perspective. I caution that the ideas presented therein can only serve as a working model as members of ISKCON are required to present a model that is consistent with Srimad Bhagavatam.

'UP' AND 'DOWN' IN THE VEDIC UNIVERSE

The Vedic universe certainly has an upper and lower side as ascertained from the following verses describing the descent of the River Ganga from the top of the universe:

"Sukadeva Gosvami said: My dear King, Lord Vishnu, the enjoyer of all sacrifices, appeared as Vamanadeva in the sacrificial arena of Bali Maharaja. Then He extended His left foot to the end of the universe and pierced a hole in its covering with the nail of His big toe. Through the hole, the pure water of the Causal Ocean entered this universe as the Ganges River." (SB 5.17.1)

Here the word for upper is urdhva. Lord Vamana pierced the upper part shell of the universe (nirbhinna—pierced; urdhva—upper; anda-kataha—the covering of the universe). This verse clearly informs us that the universe has an upper side; and from the hole in the top of the universe the Ganga descends (avataraha). Another verse describing the process of universal annihilation explains Ananta-sesha's location at the bottom part of the universe:

"Burned from all sides—from above by the blazing sun and from below by the fire of Lord Sankarsana—the universal sphere will glow like a burning ball of cow dung." (SB 12.4.10)

The synonyms for this verse are as follows:

upari—above; adhah—and below; samantat—in all directions; ca—and; sikhabhih—with the flames; vahni—of the fire; suryayoh—and of the sun; dahyamanam—being burned; vibhati—glows; andam—the egg of the universe; dagdha—burned; go-maya—of cow dung; pinda-vat—like a ball.

Here it says that the egg-shaped universe (anda) is burnt from above by the Sun (upari) and from below (adhah) by Sankarshan. If the universe did not have an upper and lower side, how could it be said that the universe is burnt from above by the sun, and from below by Ananta-sesha? The round shape of the blazing universe is compared to a burning ball (pinda-vat) of cow dung. The term pinda-vat (like a ball) is important because if the Earth itself was spherical like a ball, then words for ball would obviously be used to describe the shape of the Earth. Instead the Vedic literature always uses adjectives such as mandala, cakra, valaya, etc., that indicate that the Earth has a circular shape.

The Puranas also refer to the Earth as Bhu-gola, and although gola is often translated as sphere or globe, the important point to bear in mind when translating the word is, of course, the context in which the word is used. Just as the English word 'round' can mean sphere or circle according to the context, likewise, the Sanskrit word gola can likewise mean spherical or circular according to the context. In the context of Vedic cosmology, Bhu-gola means Earth-circle, not Earth-globe. Bhu-gola is just another way of saying Bhu-mandala (Earth circle) and this can be confirmed in many ways have we shown in our previous papers. For example, in the Dasavatara Stotra by Jayadeva Goswami it says: vedan uddharate jaganti vahate bhu-golam udbibhrate—As Varaha You lift the Earth (Bhu-gola) with Your tusk (Dasavatara Stotra verse 12). Here we have an example of a Vaishnava acharya using the name Bhu-gola to refer to the Earth which was lifted by Lord Varaha. As stated in Srimad Bhagavatam, the Bhu-gola in question is 500 million yojanas in diameter (SB 5.20.38). Thus Varaha lifted the gigantic Earth-circle not an Earth globe. That Bhu-gola and Bhu-mandala are both names for the same Earth lifted by Varaha is confirmed in the following verse from Srimad Bhagavatam: trayimayam rupam idam ca saukaram bhu-mandalenatha data dhritena te—Your transcendental body has become beautiful because of Your lifting the Earth (Bhu-mandala) on the edge of Your tusks (SB 3.13.41). Here it says Varaha lifted the Bhu-mandala. Thus the names Bhu-gola and Bhu-mandala are just different ways of naming the same gigantic flat-Earth that was lifted by Varaha. As mentioned above, the Surya-siddhanta uses the names Bhu-gola and Bhu-mandala interchangeably; and in keeping with Sukadeva Goswami's description of the Bhu-gola in Srimad Bhagavatam, the Surya-siddhanta similarly describes Bhu-gola as having Mount Meru in its center and surrounded by the varshas of Jambudvipa.

In any case, the above cited verse (SB 12.4.10) clearly indicates that the universe has an upper and lower side. Referring to the top and bottom of the universe Sukadeva Goswami says:

"Persons who are actually intelligent and philosophically inclined should endeavor only for that purposeful end which is not obtainable even by wandering from the topmost planet [Brahmaloka] down to the lowest planet [Patala]." (Sb 1.5.18)

bhramatam—wandering; upari adhah—from top to bottom

The materialists have no idea of the actual form and size of the universe, and thus they cannot say where is the center and where is the edge, or where is the top and where is the bottom. By contrast the Puranas inform us that Mount Meru is the center of the universe, and they also provide us with the distance to the shell of the universe. One can thus become centered to the rest of the universe by knowing one's relative position to Mount Meru. The Puranas present a rational idea of the universe that up is up and down is down; by contrast the asuras present the idea that up and down are merely relative ideas. Unfortunately members of ISKCON have been bewildered by this propaganda, and do not take into account either the Srimad Bhagavatam's or the Surya-siddhanta's description of how directions work.

THE DESCENT OF GANGA

In school we are taught that 'north' means the upper direction of the globe, and that 'south' means the lower direction of the globe. The image below is a typical diagram used in schools to teach children about directions.

Here the northern direction is said to be at the upper part of the globe, and the southern direction is said to be at the bottom part of the globe. The Puranas do not explain the directions in this way. By following the descent of the Ganga from the top of the universe we can get a proper understanding of how directions work in the Vedic universe: Sukadeva Goswami states:

"After purifying the seven planets near Dhruvaloka [the polestar], the Ganges water is carried through the spaceways of the demigods in billions of celestial airplanes. Then it inundates the moon [Candraloka] and finally reaches Lord Brahma's abode atop Mount Meru." (SB 5.17.4

avataranti—descending; indu-mandalam—the moon planet; avarya—inundated; brahma-sadane—to the abode of Lord Brahma atop Sumeru-parvata; nipatati—falls down.

When the Ganga falls 'down' from the top of Mount Meru she then goes to the eastern, western, northern, and southern parts of Jambudvipa. Sukadeva Goswami states:

"On top of Mount Meru, the Ganges divides into four branches, each of which gushes in a different direction [east, west, north and south]. These branches, known by the names Sita, Alakananda, Caksu and Bhadra, flow down to the ocean." (SB 5.17.5)

The image below shows Ganga falling 'down' from the top of Mount Meru, and then proceeding to the varshas situated on the north, south, east, and west of Jambudvipa; eventually Ganga enters the great Salt-water Ocean that encircles Jambudvipa.

As we shall presently see, the Ganga's movement to the 'north' and 'south' are not understood here as the directions at the top and bottom of a globe, but rather as directions along the horizontal axis of the circular Earth. Before looking in detail at the point, let us first point out that despite producing such images of Bharata-varsha's location on the flat-Earth landscape of Jambudvipa, members of ISKCON such as Pavaneshwar dasa (the producer of the above video) continue to present the Earth as a globe floating in the void of space. Such devotees never think to question that if the Earth is a globe floating in space, then where is the rest of Jambudvipa along with the 100,000 yojana Salt-water Ocean into which Ganga enters (as depicted in the above image)? We know that Ganga enters into the ocean at the Bay of Bengal which is part of the Salt-water Ocean: however, Srimad Bhagavatam does not describe the Salt-water Ocean as clinging to the spherical surface of a ball-shaped Earth; rather as shown in the above illustration, the Salt-water Ocean (of which the oceans of our known part of the Earth constitute only a tiny part) continues for another 100,000 yojanas or 800,000 miles until the next cosmic–sized dvipa of Bhu-mandala called Plakshadvipa.

Sukadeva Goswami explains Ganga going to the four directions of the Salt-water Ocean as follows:

"The branch of the Ganges known as the Sita flows through Brahmapuri atop Mount Meru, and from there it runs down to the nearby peaks of the Kesaracala Mountains, which stand almost as high as Mount Meru itself. These mountains are like a bunch of filaments around Mount Meru. From the Kesaracala Mountains, the Ganges falls to the peak of Gandhamadana Mountain and then flows into the land of Bhadrasva-varsha. Finally it reaches the ocean of salt water in the west." (SB 5.17.6)

There appears to be some mistake in the translation. Bhadrashva-varsha is in the east of Jambudvipa. The above text states that Ganga falls from Mount Meru and enters into Bhadrasva-varsha which is in the eastern direction patitvantarena bhadrasva-varsham pracyam disi. The word pracyam means east as Srila Prabhupada has translated elsewhere (see SB 10.3.7-8; SB 9.16.21-22). That Bhadrasva-varsha is in the East of Jambudvipa is confirmed in the acharyas in their commentaries to this verse.

The next verse actually describes Ganga's movement in the western direction:

"The branch of the Ganges known as Caksu falls onto the summit of Malyavan Mountain and from there cascades onto the land of Ketumala-varsha. The Ganges flows incessantly through Ketumala-varsha and in this way also reaches the ocean of salt water in the West (praticyam)." (SB 5.17.7)

The next two verses describe Ganga flowing to the north and south of Jambudvipa:

"The branch of the Ganges known as Bhadra flows from the northern side of Mount Meru. Its waters fall onto the peaks of Kumuda Mountain, Mount Nila, Sveta Mountain and Srngavan Mountain in succession. Then it runs down into the province of Kuru and, after crossing through that land, flows into the saltwater ocean in the north (uttaratah). Similarly, the branch of the Ganges known as Alakananda flows from the southern side of Brahmapuri [Brahma-sadana]. Passing over the tops of mountains in various lands, it falls down with fierce force upon the peaks of the mountains Hemakuta and Himakuta. After inundating the tops of those mountains, the Ganges falls down onto the tract of land known as Bharata-varsha, which she also inundates. Then the Ganges flows into the ocean of salt water in the south (daksina). Persons who come to bathe in this river are fortunate. It is not very difficult for them to achieve with every step the results of performing great sacrifices like the Rajasuya and Asvamedha yajnas." (SB 5.17.8-9)

In this series of verses the Ganga is described as flowing down-ward (adhah—downward; prasravanti—flowing) from the top of Mount Meru and then going into the four varshas of Jambudvipa which are situated in the north (Uttara-kuru Varsha) south (Bharata-varsha), east (Bhadrasva-varsha and west (Ketumala-varsha). So clearly 'downwards' does not mean the same thing as southwards as we have been led to believe with the globe ideology wherein people think that when they go 'south' they are going to the bottom of the ball, and when they go 'north' they go to the top of the ball. As can be ascertained from the flow of the Ganga to the varshas on the north, south, east, and west of Jambudvipa, these directions refer to locations on the horizontal axis of the flat-Earth.

Let us also remember that when Surya-siddhanta describes the Bhu-gola, it describes Mount Meru in the center of the four varshas—Uttarakuru-varsha, Bharata-varsha, Ketumala-varsha, and Bhadrasva-varsha—which are situated at the cardinal points of Jambudvipa (see Ss 12.32-40). The Surya-siddhanta's description of Mount Meru surrounded by Uttara-kuru-varsha, Bharata-varsha, Ketumala-varsha and Bhadrasva-varsha is exactly the same as that described above in the verses from Srimad Bhagavatam describing Ganga's descent into these four varshas; so clearly the Surya-siddhanta's description of Bhu-gola with Meru in the center is not referring to the so-called Earth globe. We have discussed this detail in depth in the previous part of this paper (see above link to Part 3 of this paper).

In any case, the above verses from Srimad Bhagavatam describe the Ganga falling down from the top of the universe then dividing into four streams which go to the eastern, western, northern, and southern parts of Jambudvipa. Thus 'up' and 'down' do not mean 'north' and 'south'. The Ganga falls 'down' then flows horizontally along the four directions of the circular Earth plane. Let us clearly comprehend this understanding of directions in the light of the verse under discussion:

"As the shape of the earth is spherical (vartula), people in each place think themselves to be uppermost. But as the globe of earth is situated in ether, what then is its upper and lower side?" (Ss 12.53)

If 'up' and 'down' were simply relative positions, then it would not make sense to say that the Ganga falls 'down' from the hole at the 'top' of the universe. By creating a universe with a top and a bottom, Sri-Krishna has established physical laws that can be studied scientifically—water flows down, not up; and since water always finds a level we can logically understand that all the ocean water on the entire surface of the Earth is spread across the same horizontal axis. Indeed, the nine islands of Bharata-varsha are surrounded by the waters of the great Salt-water Ocean that encircles the massive landmass called Jambudvipa; it is not that the ocean water magically sticks to the upper and lower sides of so-called globe by the force of so-called gravity. As mentioned, the description of Ganga falling from the top of Mount Meru, and flowing into the Salt-water Ocean from the four varshas situated at the cardinal points of Jambudvipa immediately defeats the idea that the Earth is a globe. If the Earth is a globe then where is the 100,000 yojana Salt-water Ocean into which Ganga enters?

We have so far heard that Ganga falls from the top of Mount Meru and flows to the varshas located on the north, south, east, and west of Jambudvipa. These directions continue along the extent of the massive flat-Earth, so that when we come to the description of the seventh island called Puskaradvipa, we find again that the demigod cities are placed on the northern, southern, eastern, and western directions of Manasottara Mountain. Sukadeva Goswami states:

"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]. On Manasottara Mountain, due east of Mount Sumeru, is a place known as Devadhani, possessed by King Indra. Similarly, in the south is a place known as Samyamani, possessed by Yamaraja, in the west is a place known as Nimlocani, possessed by Varuna, and in the north is a place named Vibhavari, 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 5.21.7)

The image below from the Temple of Vedic Planetarium shows Mount Meru in the center of Bhu-mandala along with the demigod cities situated on the top of Manasottara Mountain (in the northern, southern, eastern, and western portions of the Earth circle). Again, note that these directions are along the horizontal axis of the circular Earth.

Thus when Sukadeva Goswami says that Chandra's city called Vibhavari is in the northern direction (uttaratah saumyam vibhavarim), clearly the word for north (uttara) does not mean 'northern hemisphere' (the upper half of a sphere). Likewise when Sukadeva Goswami says that Yama's city called Samyamani is in the southern direction (daksinato yamyam samyamanim nama), clearly the word for south (daksina) does not mean southern hemisphere (the lower half of a sphere). The directions are referring to locations along the horizontal axis of the Bhu-mandala.

Lord Chaitanya also uses the terms north, south, east, and west to indicate directions along a horizontal axis:

"The astrologer said, 'The treasure is in this place, but if you dig toward the southern side (daksine), the wasps and drones will rise, and you will not get your treasure. If you dig on the western side (pascime), there is a ghost who will create such a disturbance that your hands will not even touch the treasure. If you dig on the northern side (uttare), there is a big black snake that will devour you if you attempt to dig up the treasure. However, if you dig up a small quantity of dirt on the eastern side (purva-dike), your hands will immediately touch the pot of treasure.'" (Chaitanaya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila 20: 132-135)

Here Lord Chaitanya uses the terms north, south, east, and west as directions along a horizontal axis; not that 'northern' means the upper half of a sphere, and 'southern' means the lower half of a sphere as would be the case if they were referring to directions on a vertical axis (i.e. the upper and lower halves of the so-called Earth-globe).

In the Padma Purana the circular Earth with seven islands is described as having guardians in each of the directions:

"In this way the grandsire Brahma, the best one, having founded all the kingdoms, appointed the regents of the quarters. The best one consecrated Sudhanvan, Vairaja's son, as the regent - as the king - in (i.e. of) the eastern quarter. He consecrated the noble Sankhapada, son of Kardama Prajapati, as the king of the southern quarter. Similarly Brahma, the lord of beings, consecrated the son of Varuna Prajapati, named Puskara, in (i.e. as the chief of) the western quarter. In (i.e. as the regent of) the northern quarter, Brahma consecrated Nalakubara. Thus he consecrated the very powerful regents of the quarters, by whom even now the earth with the seven islands and (many) cities, is righteously protected according to (i.e. in) the regions (assigned to them)." Padma Purana, Part 2 (Bhumikhanda), chapter 27, verse 19-27)

Here again we see clearly that north, south, east, and west are directions along the circular horizontal plane. The top surface of Mount Meru is also a horizontal axis, and thus the demigods are described as having cities in each of the directions. Srila Prabhupada also makes the difference between up and down, and north and south in the following statement:

"You can see the Durga deity. So ten hands, the material nature. Ten hands means ten directions: north, south, east, west, and then the four corners, eight, and up and down. So ten directions. So this material nature, Durga, is controlling the whole universe, ten directions." (SB 1.8.20, Mayapur September 30, 1974)

The following table with Sanskrit names for the ten directions is from a Wikipedia article called the Guardians of the Directions.

Obviously 'north' (uttara) is not the same as 'above' (urdhva), and 'south' (daksina) is not the same as 'below' (adhah). The Aussie idea that they are in the southern hemisphere of a globe and thus 'down-under' is just part of the massive illusion that people live in.

HOW DOES SURYA-SIDDHANTA DESCRIBE NORTH AND SOUTH?

The Surya-siddhanta explains north and south in a manner that is consistent with Srimad Bhagavatam as well as that presented by Lord Chaitanya in the Caitanya-caritamrta. For example in Chapter 3 of the Surya-siddhanta , Surya describes how to construct a dial on the ground; we need not explain the purpose and construction of this dial save to say that it has a circular shape, that it is etched on a flat surface and that north, south, east, and west are directions along the horizontal axis. Danavir Goswami's translation to Chapter Three, verse 1 of the Surya-siddhanta reads as follows:

shilatale'mvusamshudhe vajralepe'pi va same/
tatra shankvangulairistaih samam mandala malikhet//1//

"On a stony surface with level like that of water or on a hard level surface, draw a even circle (samamandala) whose measure is equal to ista anguli." (Ss 3.1)

Here the word mandala is used to describe a circle etched on a flat surface. The next verse says:

tanmaadhye sthapayecchankum kalpanaddvadasangulam/
tacchayagram sprshed yatra vrtte purvvapararddhayoh//2//
tatravindu vidhayobhau vrtte parvaparabhidhau/
tanmadhye timina rekha kartvya dakshinottara//3//

"At the center, set up a cone (shanku) equal in measure to twelve digits (anguli) where the anterior part of its shadow touches the circle in the forenoon (purva) and afternoon (aparanha), fix two points of definition (reference) there. Draw a south-north line in the middle of that by means of a fish-shaped figure (timi)." (Ss 3.2-3)

Here the point of interest for us is the line tanmadhye timina rekha kartvya dakshinottara—Draw a south-north line in the middle of that by means of a fish-shaped figure (timi). Having established that the circle is on a flat surface, the directions north-south obviously mean points along a horizontal surface; they do not mean points along a vertical axis as would be the case if the Earth was a globe with a northern and southern hemisphere. The next line establishes the east-west line:

"Draw an east-west line through this fish figure (matsya). Similarly using the fish-figure theory and the four cardinal points of east, west, north and south, draw intermediary directions (dikmadhya)." (Ss 3.4)

So clearly north, south, east, and west are clearly directions on a horizontal axis; it is not that north and south are points on a vertical axis as is the case with the presentation that the Earth-globe has a northern and southern hemisphere.

Despite stating that the circle is on a level surface and that the four directions are situated on this horizontal, a later verse in this same section of Danavir Goswami's translation of the Surya-siddhanta appears as follows:

"Adding the square of this result and the karani (surd) and taking the square-root of the result of addition, we have again a result from which our previous result (phala), when subtracted in the southern hemisphere (dakshingola) and to which our previous result (phala) when added in the northern hemisphere (uttargola), gives us the angle of the cone (konasanku)." (Ss 3.32)

Here daksingola has been translated as 'southern hemisphere' implying that the direction refers to the lower side of an Earth-globe and uttaragola has been translated as 'northern hemisphere' implying the upper half of a globe. In reality the text is describing a diagram on a flat surface and has nothing to do with a globe with a northern and southern hemisphere.

Although the difference between 'up' and 'down' and 'north' and 'south' should be obvious, unfortunately in order to somehow prove the globe idea, members of the Krishna conscious society have mixed up translations in such a manner that the Sanskrit word for the southern direction (daksina) has become translated as 'southern hemisphere' supposedly indicating the southern half of a 'sphere' or ball, and likewise the Sanskrit word for the northern direction (uttara) has been translated as 'northern hemisphere. An example of this misrepresentation of Sanskrit words can be found in a paper by Soolaba Doyle called The Puranic Geography of Bharata-varsha. In his paper Soolaba Doyle writes:

"According to the perspective of humans looking at the night sky, the latitude and longitude of any place on Earth can be plotted on this map. In the Surya-siddhanta , the students are advised by Surya-Deva to imagine a sphere Earth, or to make a wooden model, with Laṇka on the equator, and the prime meridian passing through Ujjain. The wooden axis stick is the axis mundi of Mt. Meru, passing through the poles and connecting it to the celestial sphere. The icy north equates with the Himalayan karmic barrier, and its equivalent in the south. In past yugas, suras (pious demigod worshipers) took birth in the north, and asuras (impious demigod worshipers) in the southern islands (listed in the Vayu Purana). In the Surya-siddhanta Ch.12 v 35-36, it is stated "Northwards are located Indra and other great sages. Southwards is the habitat of asuras. Because of reciprocal animosity they are located opposite. Amidst these, like a girdle, the great ocean has divided the Earth into areas for the demigods and the demons." Soolaba Doyle, The Puranic Geography of Bharata-varsha, p16)

Like Rev. Burgess and Danavir Goswami before him, Soolaba Doyle has misinterpreted 'north' and 'south' to mean northern and southern 'hemisphere'; and working on that assumption has depicted the Bhu-gola described in Surya-siddhanta as the modern Earth-globe. The image below shows Soolaba Doyle's illustration for the so-called Spherical Mathematics of Bharata-varsha as Decribed in the Puranas and Surya-siddhanta :

Soolaba's text says 'Sphere Earth Models from the Surya-siddhanta , Siddhanta-Śiromaṇi and Narada Purana'. The reader may not see the graphics, but there are arrows pointing to 'the northern hemisphere' and 'the southern hemisphere' of the globe.

All of the above speculation results from a complete departure of what the Puranas declare to be 'north' and 'south' as distinguished from 'up' and 'down'. Danavir Goswami's translation to the above cited verse by Soolaba reads as follows:

uparistat sthitatasya sendradevamaharsayah/
adhastadasurastadvat dvisantonyonyamasritah//35//

Above (northwards), are located the demigod Indra and other great sages. Below (southwards), is the habitat of all the demons. Because of reciprocal animosity they are located opposite (each other). (Ss 12.35)

So is the verse saying 'above' or is it saying 'north'? Why does that matter? It matters because north, south, east, and west are directions along the plane of the Earth-circle, not the top and bottom sides of a globe. The verse is saying the demigods are situated above (upari) and asuras are situated below (adhah). This is consistent with Sri-Krishna's statement in the Bhagavad-gita that the those in the mode of ignorance like the asuras live below (adhah) in the underground realms, whereas the demigods live above (urdhva) in svarga. Sri-Krishna says:

"Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the abominable mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds." (Bg 14.18)

urdhvam—upwards; gacchanti—go; sattva-sthah—those situated in the mode of goodness; madhye—in the middle; tisthanti—dwell; rajasah—those situated in the mode of passion; jaghanya—of abominable; guna—quality; vrtti-sthah—whose occupation; adhah—down; gacchanti—go; tamasah—persons in the mode of ignorance.

Regarding 'north' and 'south', as already explained these directions refer to the directions along the horizontal axis, not the vertical axis. The translation of the word north (uttara) as 'northern hemisphere', and south (daksina) as 'southern hemisphere' is pure speculation. There is no such thing as a northern and southern 'hemisphere' in the Vedic teachings because there is no such thing as an Earth globe in the Vedic universe. Whilst it is true that according to context the word uttara can sometimes mean 'above' or 'upper', nonetheless, when one is referring to the ten directions controlled by the dik-palas, the word uttara means north on the horizontal axis. In the Puranas the word 'north' (uttara) does not mean the upper half of a sphere, and the word south (daksina) does not mean the lower half of a sphere. The word for 'above' is uparistat and the word for 'below' is adhastat. Thus up and down do not refer to the up and down side of a ball, it refers to the upper and lower parts of the universe.

The idea that daksina (south) refers to the lower half or southern hemisphere of an Earth globe is mistaken, and an interpolation on the verses from Surya-siddhanta based on a Western bias. Thus although both Surya-siddhanta and Srimad Bhagavatam use north as a direction along a horizontal plane, members of ISKCON have translated north to mean 'northern hemisphere' and have therefore conjured an idea of an Earth globe which actually doesn't exist in the original text.

In the above cited section from Soolaba Doyle, he refers to a passage from the Surya-siddhanta which supposedly describes the creation of a wooden spherical Earth with a staff representing Mount Meru running through the so-called North and South Pole. Danavir Goswami's translation to the verse in question from Surya-siddhanta reads as follows:

atha gupte sucau dese snatah suciralankritah/
sampujya bhaskaram bhaktya grahanbhanyatha guhyakan//1//
paramparyopadesena yathajrianam gurormukhat/
acaryah sishyavodhatham sarvam pratyakshadarsivan//2//
bhubhagolasya racanam kuryadascaryakarinim/
abhishtam prithivigolam karayitva tu daravam//3//
dandam tanmadhyagam merorubhayatra vinirgatam/
adharakakshadvitayam kakshavaishuvatitatha//4//

"In a secret and purified place, the teacher who is endowed with direct perception, in pure and adorned state, worships with devotion the sun, the stars and the custodians of treasures (guhyaka). Following which he, in order to make everything learned through successive generations of disciples and directly from the mouth of the master, intelligible to the disciples, will create a wonderful earth-sphere (bhubhagola), by keeping in front an earth-globe of desired size and made of wood. He will then fix a staff, passing through the middle of the earth-globe and protruding on the either side of the Meru, two sustaining orbits (kakshadvaya) and the equinoctical orbit (vishuva kaksha)." (Ss 13.1-4)

The verse actually says bhubhagola which is referring both to the Earth (bhu) and luminaries (bha). The luminaries are in the form of a circle as is the Earth itself, thus the word gola taken in context of all the other verses provided above means 'circle', not 'wonderful Earth globe' as translated above. The wooden model is circular not globular.

Though Danavir Goswami has translated Bhu-gola as 'wonderful earth globe', we have already shown above and in previous papers that the Bhu-gola in question is a flat-Earth with Meru in the center of Jambudvipa, and that Meru is surrounded by Bhadrashva-varsha, Ketumala-varsha, Uttara-kuru-varsha and Bharata-varsha (see Ss 12.38-42). Bharata-varsha is thus a part of Bhu-gola, not the Bhu-gola itself. It is not by word jugglery that Bharata-varsha can morph into a globe, and that Meru can be shown standing at the north pole of the globe-shaped Earth as Soolaba has presented above. Basically Soolaba Doyle has argued for a complete displacement of Srimad Bhagavatam's definition of space, distance, and direction. Mount Meru does not pass through the so-called poles, because Mount Meru is situated in Ilavrta-varsha which is hundreds of thousands of miles to the north of Bharata-varsha.

The idea that all of this can be resolved by resorting to the idea of a 'multi-dimensional universe' is only so much hocus pocus that contradicts the Srimad Bhagavatam's simple three-dimensional model. The Vedic Universe is three-dimensional. Thus we have the terms for length, height, and width. Everything within the Vedic universe is apportioned a certain space comprising height, length, and width, and one place is separated from another by a certain distance (measured in yojanas) as well as a certain direction (dik). The Surya-siddhanta itself states that all living beings live in their respective places:

"Brahma, endowed with attributes like anima etc., assigned the stars, planets, earth, the universe—including the demigods, demons and the perfected ones (siddhas), to be situated in their respective places in order." (Ss 12.28)

Everything has its apportioned space in the Vedic universe, and thus the distance and direction from one place to another is provided. The idea that the universe is multi-dimensional, and that one place can be on top of another (i.e. that Mount Meru can be on the top of Bharata-varsha supposedly manifesting in the form of a globe) is untruth and illusion. Srimad Bhagavatam describes Mount Meru in Ilavrta-varsha and hundreds of thousands of miles to the north of Bharata-varsha. Bharata-varsha is a series of nine islands on the plane of the Earth, it is not a sphere. There is no reason to present it as spherical—even as a mathematical calculation—because presenting it as a sphere means accepting the idea that there is a northern and southern hemisphere where people live upside-down in relation to one another; but this is not reality as Srimad Bhagavatam describes it. Reality as Srimad Bhagavatam describes it is that we all stand on the same horizontal Earth, and look 'up' at the sky to see the planets and stars rotating above us. Below us are Ananta-sesha and the Garbhodaka Ocean. It is not that 'up' and 'down' are simply relative concepts depending on one's location on the so-called globe.

We have to place everything where it is said to be located within the universe. Mount Meru is not running through the poles of the so-called globe's northern and southern hemisphere. Mount Meru is in Ilavrta-varsha. It cannot be two different things simultaneously based on a concocted idea of a multi-dimensional universe where any speculation is permissible, and the Puranic definition of space, direction and distance is thrown out the window.

Apart from length, breadth, and height, the only other dimension mentioned in the Puranas is turiya (4th dimension or transcendence). The universe is three dimensional, and turyia (the fourth dimension) refers to the spiritual dimension. In the fourth dimension anything is possible, but otherwise the rest of the creation is located where it is said to be located within the three dimensional universe. Thus one must adhere to the description of directions (diksu) and distances (yojanas) in order to properly map out the universe.

ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF SURYA-SIDDHANTA

It is not possible to go through all of the verses from Surya-siddhanta that are relevant to our discussion, but we can say generally that the existing English translations and interpretations are a disaster being as they are no more than an attempt to make out that the Earth is a globe with a southern and northern hemisphere. This results in all manner of absurd translations in Danavir Goswami's edition of the Surya-siddhanta such as their being two Mount Merus (Ss 12.69), two polestars (Ss 12.73), etc. The entire text has to be translated again by someone with a grasp of the Vedic flat-Earth concept.

CONCLUSION

As we have shown in our series of papers regarding the shape, size and situation of the Earth in Vedic literature, neither Srimad Bhagavatam nor Surya-siddhanta describe the Earth as a globe shaped planet; thus ISKCON has actually no scriptural basis for presenting the Earth as a globe either at the Temple of Vedic Planetarium, or in any other presentation of Vedic cosmology. Please let that hit home for all concerned in presenting Vedic cosmology to the world via the Temple of Vedic Planetarium—ISKCON has no scriptural basis for presenting the Earth as a globe! In our next series of papers we shall further discuss Srila Prabhupada's statements on the nature of the Earth. We shall explain why Srila Prabhupada—though mostly speaking of the Earth in the modern sense as a globe floating in space—ultimately wanted the Srimad Bhagavatam's Bhu-mandala concept to be presented at the Temple of Vedic Planetarium.

According to Srimad Bhagvatam we are living on a gigantic Earth circle held by Ananta-sesha, and that is the message that followers of Srimad Bhagavatam must preach to the world via the Temple Of Vedic Planetarium. All other arguments for the existence of a globe in Vedic cosmology (including the text of Surya-siddhanta ) have been shown to be fallacious. Vedic cosmology describes a circular Earth! There is no way around it.

A proper presentation of the Earth via the TOVP will counter the false ideology of the asuras which has kept people in a limited understanding of both physical and spiritual reality. Bhumi-devi is now revealing her true shape, size and purpose as part of the on-going transition to the age of transcendence.

"On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world's misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest." (SB 1.5.11)

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