A Jaina View of Cosmos
By Kastur Chand Lalwani
Summary
Kastur Chand Lalwani’s article offers a detailed overview of Jaina cosmology and compares it with Hindu and modern scientific models. He first describes the seven hells of the lower world—Ratnaprabha, Sharkaraprabha, Valukaprabha, Pankaprabha, Dhūmaprabha, Tamahprabha and Mahātamahprabha—explaining that as one descends, the regions become wider but shallower and the number of hells decreases. He provides traditional measures of distance (angulas, hastas, kosas and yojanas) and discusses the denizens of these realms, the neraiyas, sexless beings who suffer constant hunger, thirst, heat and cold. Some classes of gods, called bhavanavāsīs and vanamantaras, inhabit the uppermost part of the lower world, linking it with the central sphere. Moving upward, Lalwani outlines the twelve celestial regions of the upper world, grouped in pairs and culminating in the Graiveyaka heavens and the five Anuttara vimānas, above which lies the siddhaśilā where liberated souls dwell. He contrasts the Jaina and Hindu cosmological models, noting that both enumerate multiple lokas but differ in the position of the liberated realm and in the classification of heavens and hells. The article then turns to the central world (madhyaloka), focusing on Jambūdvīpa and its concentric rings of continents and seas such as Dhātakīkhaṇḍa, Puskaradvīpa and the Milk Ocean. Beyond the Manusottara mountain, human institutions and even natural phenomena cease. Lalwani explains that the number of suns and moons increases in each successive island, reflecting the Jaina belief that celestial bodies serve different regions. A comparative table illustrates how the Jaina and Hindu orders of the solar system diverge from the modern heliocentric model. While acknowledging that scriptural cosmology cannot be tested by material science, Lalwani emphasises its symbolic and ethical functions: the hells caution against vice, the central world represents the opportunity for liberation, and the heavens symbolise states of merit. The article ends with the promise of continuation.
Conclusion
By charting the layers of the universe and comparing them to other models, Lalwani’s study highlights the sophistication of Jaina cosmography. He argues that its primary purpose is ethical rather than scientific: it reminds practitioners of the consequences of actions, the rarity of human birth and the goal of liberation. Recognising the symbolic intent allows modern readers to appreciate the cosmology’s enduring spiritual message.