The Velandhara
One lakh seventy-four thousand nāga gods hold the salt sea to its bound — the reason a wall of water 16,000 yojana high has never once fallen on Jambūdvīpa.
The sea is not held by its own weight. 1,74,000 nāgakumāra gods called Velandhara — keepers of the bound — stand about the crest and keep the water where it is. The Lokaprakāśa gives the total; the commentaries divide it between the inner face, the outer face and the top, and those divisions this atlas has not been able to confirm, so it prints the total alone.
Their Indras live on eight mountains in the sea: the four Velādhārin at the cardinal points, 42,000 yojana out from the shore, and the four Anuvelādhārin at the corners. The lord of the whole ocean, Susthita, keeps his own island, Gautamadvīpa, in the west.
माप और संख्याएँ
| Count | 1,74,000 |
|---|---|
| Kind | nāgakumāra |
| Office | holding the sea to its bound |
| Division by face | commentarial — not confirmed |
| Their Indras' seats | 8 mountains |