This is one of approximately a dozen known bhūgola housed at repositories such as the British Museum, the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of the History of Science at Oxford, the Bharat Kala Bhavan in Varanasi, and several private collections.

Anonymously crafted using distemper on cloth, the information on the bhūgola is predominantly derived from Puranic texts, primarily the 'Vayu Purana' (one of the eighteen major 'Puranas' or primary religious texts of Hinduism), which discusses theories of cosmology, genealogy of gods and kings of solar and lunar dynasties, mythology, geography, the solar system, and the movements of the celestial bodies. The globe also incorporates astronomical observations made by Hindu astronomers dating as far back as Aryabhata (born 476 CE).

This Nepalese map of worship is known as a bhūgola (भूगोल), which in Sanskrit literally translates to 'earth globe'. This concept derived from the Vayu Purana, a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. It depicts detailed inscriptions of principal rivers, mountains, oceans, and cities surrounding Mount Sumeru, with Brahmā seated on a lotus bloom at the centre as creator. Each petal of the lotus flower surrounding him is inhabited by an important deity representing one of the eight cardinal wind directions. Radiating outward are circular bands bordered by stylised landscapes and inhabited by animals, birds, and important human figures and royalty engaged in various activities.

The depiction of the earth painted on the bhūgola's surface endeavours to merge concepts from two distinct systems: the traditional Hindu cosmography outlined in the Puranas, likening the universe to an egg standing on its end, and the notion of a spherical earth introduced by Sanskrit writers influenced by Ptolemaic astronomy.

In order to understand more about this exquisite object, its history and context, Nepalese scholar Dr. Gautama Vajracharya has conducted research into the bhūgola. Read his fascinating essay in Map Stories. 

This work is related to an artifact created for the Mohan courtyard of the old royal palace of Kathmandu, the Hanumānḍhokāmade. This cosmic sculpture of gilded copper was commissioned and installed by King Pratapa Malla in 1656.  The text inscribed on the uppermost disk refers to it as bhūgola, a word whose literal meaning is 'earth ball,' that is, the terrestrial globe. This bhūgola was commissioned by Kirti Simha, a Malla prince of Patan, in 1711 CE 

Diagram of the World (Bhūgola)