कुशस्तम्बो देवकृतस्तद्द्वीपाख्याकरो ज्वलन इवापरः स्वशष्परोचिषा दिशो
विराजयति ॥१३॥
evaá¹ surodÄd bahis tad-dvi-guṇaḥ samÄnenÄvá¹›to ghá¹›todena yathÄ-pÅ«rvaḥ kuÅ›a-dvÄ«po yasmin kuÅ›a-stambo deva-ká¹›tas tad-dvÄ«pÄkhyÄkaro jvalana ivÄparaḥ sva-Å›aá¹£pa-rociá¹£Ä diÅ›o virÄjayati
evam - thus; surodÄt - from the ocean of liquor; bahiḥ - outside; tat-dvi-guṇaḥ - twice that; samÄnena - equal in width; Ävá¹›taḥ - surrounded; ghá¹›ta-udena - an ocean of clarified butter; yathÄ-pÅ«rvaḥ - as previously with SÄlmalÄ«dvÄ«pa; kuÅ›a-dvÄ«pa - the island called KuÅ›advÄ«pa; yasmin - in which; kuÅ›a-stambaḥ - kuÅ›a grass; deva-ká¹›taḥ - created by the supreme will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tat-dvÄ«pa-ÄkhyÄ-karaḥ - giving the island its name; jvalanaḥ - fire; iva - like; aparaḥ - another; sva-Å›aá¹£pa-rociá¹£Ä - by the effulgence of the young sprouting grass; diÅ›aḥ - all directions; virÄjayati - illuminates.
Outside the ocean of liquor is another island, known as KuÅ›advÄ«pa, which is 800,000 yojanas [6,400,000 miles] wide, twice as wide as the ocean of liquor. As ÅšÄlmalÄ«dvÄ«pa is surrounded by a liquor ocean, KuÅ›advÄ«pa is surrounded by an ocean of liquid ghee as broad as the island itself. On KuÅ›advÄ«pa there are clumps of kuÅ›a grass, from which the island takes its name. This kuÅ›a grass, which was created by the demigods by the will of the Supreme Lord, appears like a second form of fire, but with very mild and pleasing flames. Its young shoots illuminate all directions.
From the descriptions in this verse, we can make an educated guess about the nature of the flames on the moon. Like the sun, the moon must also be full of flames because without flames there cannot be illumination. The flames on the moon, however, unlike those on the sun, must be mild and pleasing. This is our conviction. The modern theory that the moon is full of dust is not accepted in the verses of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. In regard to this verse, ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« ṬhÄkura says, suÅ›aá¹£pÄṇi sukomala-Å›ikhÄs teá¹£Äá¹ rociá¹£Ä: the kuÅ›a grass illuminates all directions, but its flames are very mild and pleasing. This gives some idea of the flames existing on the moon.
