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Srila Prabhupada said that humans never went to Chandraloka as it requires enlightened soul and opined humans might have gone to other planet such as Rahu. He said whole universe is panchshat-koti-yojana which means fifty crore yojana or panchashat or four billion miles in diameter.

Can i know which scriptures (preferably vedas or upanishads or puranas; not the work of Astronomers such as Aryabhatta) cite this calculation?

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    My answer here gives various distances: hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/7262/36 I should mention that I profoundly disagree with the views of Prabhupada and ISKCON on Hindu cosmology, as I discuss in the comments section of that answer.
    – Keshav Srinivasan ♦
    Sep 27, 2015 at 14:32
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    @Keshav, extremely informative answer. I would like to add one thing, in my understanding, the lokas- Bhur, bhuvah, Svah etc. Do not refer to physical planets. Infact the entire physical universe is included in Bhu-loka. Other lokas are subtle realms and are cosmos on their own. Hence, it needs a subtle body to go into those lokas. In fact it is said that, when after death one goes to Pitr loka, he gains a new different kind of body there.
    – Nithin Sridhar
    Sep 27, 2015 at 15:14
  • @NithinSridhar Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree that Bhuloka encompasses the entire physical universe. That's why I ended my answer with "I should add that while these passages discuss spatial separations, I don't think these Lokas are actually in our physical universe; in addition to spatial separation they might also be located in separate universes".
    – Keshav Srinivasan ♦
    Sep 27, 2015 at 15:16
  • @Keshav Srinivasan Are there any scriptures citing that humans cannot land on Moon and Mars?
    – The Destroyer ♦
    Sep 27, 2015 at 15:17
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    Where is scientific speculation in this question?
    – The Destroyer ♦
    Dec 13, 2016 at 9:06

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I think Prabhupada is stating diameter of Universe from this verse of Srimad Bhagvatam:

एतावाळ् लोक-विन्यासो मान-लक्षण-संस्थाभिर् विचिन्तितः कविभिः स तु ।
पञ्चाशत्-कोटि-गणितस्य भू-गोलस्य तुरीय-भागो ’यं लोकालोकाचलः ।। (SB 5.20.38)

Learned scholars have thus described the planetary systems and their particular symptoms, measurements and locations. By mathematical calculation it comes that Lokaloka is situated at one fourth (Turiya Bhaga) of this Physical Universe (Bhumandala) which has diameter of 50 crore yojana (PanchaShat Koti).

That verse states:

पञ्चाशत्-कोटि-गणितस्य भू-गोलस्य।
Bhu Gola (Mandala) is mathematically calculated as 50 crore (Yojanas).

As a side note it is not necessary that 50 crore Yojanas is equal to 4 billion miles. Value of Yojana is a debated value. Also it may be cosmic Yojana. Also it maybe diameter of BhuMandala during Saraswata Kalpa as Bhagvatam narrates the Story of Saraswata Kalpa. Also the term Koti usually means millions but it isn't necessary that it always means millions.

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  • Is Bhu Gola earth or Universe?
    – The Destroyer ♦
    Dec 17, 2016 at 6:29
  • @TheDestroyer Neither earth nor universe, it is galaxy.
    – Pinakin
    Dec 17, 2016 at 6:59
  • @ChinmaySarupria If it's Galaxy, it will be spiral not "Gola" shaped.
    – The Destroyer ♦
    Dec 17, 2016 at 9:56
  • @The Destroyer Bhu Gola generally means Earth but in this verse it means Bhu Mandala which can be either entire physical universe (or galaxy).. I think Bhu Mandala means entire physical universe..
    – Tezz
    Dec 17, 2016 at 10:24
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    @Tezz - Superb Answer.
    – SwiftPushkar
    Dec 17, 2016 at 15:44

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