A Jaina View of Cosmos – a Comparative Study

Summary

Kastur Chand Lalwani’s essay “A Jaina View of Cosmos – a Comparative Study” juxtaposes traditional Jaina cosmology with Hindu and modern scientific cosmologies. The first part describes the classic Jaina model of Jambudvipa, the middle world where humans reside. Lalwani explains that Jambudvipa is envisioned as a circular disc surrounded by concentric oceans and continents. It is divided into seven regions (varṣas) by six east‑west mountain ranges, the most prominent of which are Mount Meru at the centre and the Himavan, Mahendra, Niṣadha, Nila, Rukmī and Śikhari ranges. The essay details the climates, inhabitants and distinctive features of each varṣa and notes that Bharata‑varṣa, where we live, is characterised by susceptibility to pleasure and pain, making it suitable for spiritual endeavour. Lalwani also discusses the Jaina classification of beings and time cycles. He emphasises that the purpose of Jaina cosmography is not to provide precise physical measurements but to convey a moral and spiritual map of the universe that situates human life within a vast continuum. Lalwani then compares the Jaina cosmology with descriptions in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa. While both traditions speak of concentric continents and central Mount Meru, they differ in the number of dvīpas and the placement of rivers and mountains. For example, the Viṣṇu Purāṇa lists seven islands separated by oceans of salt, sugar cane juice, wine, ghee, curds, milk and fresh water, whereas Jaina texts describe oceans of different colours and materials. Lalwani suggests that these variations reflect differing theological aims. The final section addresses modern scientific cosmology. He observes that Indian cosmology stagnated after the classical period and that advancements came primarily from Western thinkers like Copernicus, whose heliocentric model displaced the Earth from the centre, and Kepler and Galileo, whose discoveries further dethroned the Earth and even the Sun from privileged positionshttps://jainqq.org/pagetext/Jain_Journal_1969_01/520013/41. Lalwani summarises how modern astronomy reveals an immense universe with billions of galaxies, undermining earlier geocentric and even heliocentric views. Yet he argues that modern cosmology, though empirical, still grapples with questions of origin, purpose and infinity that religious cosmologies address in symbolic ways. The essay concludes that while the Jaina cosmic model is mythic and moral, it resonates with contemporary views that the universe has no fixed centre and that human life occupies a very small part of an immeasurably vast cosmos. Lalwani encourages dialogue between scientific and spiritual worldviews, suggesting that each can enrich the other.