Text 2]
A Description of Jambūdvīpa
91
vareṇyam : the sunshine spreads throughout Bhū-maṇḍala. Therefore the sun is worshipable. The stars, which are known as  nakṣatra , are not different suns, as modern astronomers suppose. From  Bhagavad-gītā  (10.21) we understand that the stars are similar to the moon ( nakṣatrāṇām aham śaśī ). Like the moon, the stars reflect the sunshine. Apart from our modern distinguished estimations of where the planetary systems are located, we can understand that the sky and its various planets were studied long, long before  Śrīmad-Bhāgatavam  was compiled. Śukadeva Gosvāmī explained the location of the planets, and this indicates that the information was known long, long before Śukadeva Gosvāmī related it to Mahārāja Parīkṣīt. The location of the various planetary systems was not unknown to the sages who flourished in the Vedic age.
TEXT 2
तत्रापि प्रियत्रतरथचरणपरिवार्तैः सप्तमिः सप्त सिन्धव उपवलप्ता यत एतस्याः सप्तद्वीपविशेषविकल्पस्त्वया भगवन् खलु द्वचित एतदेवाखिलमहं मानतो लक्षणतश्च सर्वं विजिज्ञासामि ॥ २ ॥
tatrāpi priyavrata-ratha-caraṇa-parikhātaiḥ saptabhiḥ sapta sindhava upaklptā yata etasyāḥ sapta-dvīpa-viśeṣa-vikalpas tvayā bhagavan khalu sūcita etad evākhilam aham mānato lakṣaṇataś ca sarvam vijjñāsāmi.
tatra api —in that Bhū-maṇḍala;  priyavrata-ratha-caraṇa-parikhātaiḥ —by the ditches made by the wheels of the chariot used by Priyavrata Mahārāja while circummambulating Sumeru behind the sun;  saptabhiḥ —by the seven;  sapta —seven;  sindhavaḥ —oceans;  upaklptāḥ —created;  yataḥ —because of which;  etasyāḥ —of this Bhū-maṇḍala;  sapta-dvīpa —of the seven islands;  viśeṣa-vikalpah —the mode of the construction;  tvayā —by you;  bhagavan —O great saint;  khalu —indeed;  sūcitaḥ —described;  etat —this;  eva —certainly;  akhilam —whole subject;  aham —I;  mānataḥ —from the point of view of measurement;  lakṣaṇataḥ —and from symptoms;  ca —also;  sarvam —everything;  vijjñāsāmi —wish to know.