जै · The Jain Encyclopedia
Bharat's outer divisions

The five Mleccha Khaṇḍas

म्लेच्छ खण्ड

The other five divisions of Bharat: three across the mountain to the north, two flanking the Ārya Khaṇḍa.

They are lands of action like the Ārya Khaṇḍa — birth there is human birth and karma works the same — but the texts describe them as untouched by the swings of the Kāla Cakra. No Tīrthaṅkara is born in them and no teaching lineage runs through them.

A cakravartī must take all six to earn the title, which is what sends him through the tunnels of Vaitāḍhya in the first place.

HIMAVĀN — gold, 100 yojana highPadma lakeTamisrāKhaṇḍaprapātāṚṣabhakūṭaVAITĀḌHYAĀRYA KHAṆḌA25½ ārya countriesGAṆGĀ →← SINDHULavaṇa Samudra · the salt oceanBharat is 526 6⁄19 yojana north to south — one part in 190. Drawn far deeper than it is, so it can be read.Vaitāḍhya and the two rivers cut it into six khaṇḍas; 110 vidyādhara cities line the mountain’s two faces.Only the southern middle khaṇḍa changes as the ages turn.NESWyou are here
Bharat Kṣetra and its six divisions — The five Mleccha Khaṇḍas highlighted

Measurements and counts

Count5
North of Vaitāḍhya3
South of Vaitāḍhya2
Tīrthaṅkaras born therenone
Land of action?yes

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समयं गोयम! मा पमायए

Do not be heedless, Gautama, for even a single samaya.

Uttarādhyayana Sūtra 10