Kraustuki asked Markandeya- ‘O lord! Please describe about Bharatavarsha.’ Markandeya replied- ‘Bharatavarsha is surrounded by oceans on all its three sides. People living towards the east of Bharatavarsha are known as Kirat while people living towards the west are called Yavan. The central part of Bharatavarsha is inhabited by all the four castes- Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. The seven mountains are situated in the central part of Bharatavarsha. They are Mahendra, Malaya, Sahaya, Shaktiman, Riksh, Vindhya and Pariyatra. There are thousands of hills situated in the vicinity of these seven mountains. The central part of Bharatavarsha is sub-divided into Janpadas. The residents of these Janpadas are known as Mlechha and Arya. All the major rivers of Bharatavarsha like Ganga, Saraswati, Sindhu, Chandrabhaga, Yamuna, Shatadru, Vitasta, Irawati, Gomti, Vipasha and Gandki etc. originate from the mountains situated in the central parts. The names of the prominent Janpadas situated in the central part of Bharatavarsha are Matsya, Ashwakoot, Kulya, Kuntal, Kashi, Koshal, Arbuda, Kalinga, Malak, Vrik etc. River Godavari flows towards the north of Sahya Mountain.
A city named Govardhan is situated near this mountain. Some other prominent places situated in the vicinity of this mountain are Bahalik, Vataghan, Amir and Kaltoyak. Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudras live in the following states- Shudra, Pahalav, Charmakhandika, Gandhar, Yavan, Sindhu, Sauveer, Bhadrak, Shatadruj, Parad and Kekaya. The following states are situated in the north of Bharatavarsha- Tamas, Hansmarg, Kashmir, Shulik, Kuhak, Urna, Darva etc. States like Abhrarak, Mudgarak, Antagiri, Plawang, Mal, Damal, Vartik, Uttarbrahma, Pragjyotish, Madra, Videha, Tamraliptak, Malla and Magadh are situated in the east of Bharatavarsha. States situated in the south of Bharatavarsha are Pandya, Kerala, Chola, Maharashtra, Mahishik, Kalinga and Amir. These are the Janpadas where Shabar live.’
‘Janpadas situated in the west of Bharatavarsha are Suryarak, Kalibala, Durg, Kaha, Pulind, Toshal and Koshal etc. Bharatavarsha is the only country in the whole world where all the four yugas- Satya, Treta, Dwapar, and Kali occur in a cyclic way. Bharatavarsha is the root of all forms of divinity where deities reside and almighty God takes incarnation.’