Four continents

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Four continents (Wyl. gling bzhi) — the four island-continents (Skt. dvīpa; Wyl. gling) which surround Mount Meru according to the cosmology of the Abhidharma. They are:

  1. Purva Videha (Skt. Pūrvavideha; Tib. Lüpakpo; Wyl. lus 'phags po) in the East, which is semi-circular
  2. Jambudvipa (Skt. Jambudvīpa; Tib. Dzambuling) in the South, which is trapezoidal
  3. Aparagodaniya (Skt.; Tib. Balangchö; Wyl. ba lang spyod) in the West, which is circular
  4. Uttarakura (Skt.; Tib. Draminyen; Wyl. sgra mi snyan) in the North, which is square

Each of the four continents is flanked by two subcontinents (Skt. kṣudradvīpāni; Wyl. gling phreng) of the same shape (see eight subcontinents).