जै · The Jain Encyclopedia
The upper world

Ūrdhva Loka

ऊर्ध्वलोक

The heavens: tiers of celestial abodes stacked from just above Mount Meru's summit to the roof of the universe.

Gods are not liberated. They are souls enjoying an extremely long, extremely pleasant birth, and when the merit runs out they fall back into the cycle like anyone else. Height in the heavens tracks detachment, not power.

The lowest tier are the twelve kalpa heavens, where rank, hierarchy and an Indra still exist: Saudharma, Īśāna, Sanatkumāra, Māhendra, Brahmaloka, Lāntaka, Mahāśukra, Sahasrāra, Ānata, Prāṇata, Āraṇa, Acyuta. Digambara texts split four of these into pairs and so count sixteen; see twelve or sixteen.

Above the kalpas, hierarchy stops. The nine Graiveyaka abodes sit at the throat of the cosmic figure, and above them the five Anuttara, the highest of which, Sarvārthasiddhi, is one birth from liberation. Digambara texts insert nine Anudiśa between the two; this map follows the Śvetāmbara reckoning and does not.

Above everything is Siddhaśilā, which is not a heaven at all.

02468101214rajjuSiddhaśilāno lifespanSarvārthasiddhi · centre33 sāgar.Vijaya · east31–33 sāgar.Vaijayanta · south31–33 sāgar.Jayanta · west31–33 sāgar.Aparājita · north31–33 sāgar.Upper Graiveyaka × 329–31 sāgar.Middle Graiveyaka × 326–28 sāgar.Lower Graiveyaka × 323–25 sāgar.12 Acyuta22 sāgar.11 Āraṇa21 sāgar.10 Prāṇata20 sāgar.9 Ānata19 sāgar.8 Sahasrāra18 sāgar.7 Mahāśukra17 sāgar.6 Lāntaka14 sāgar.5 Brahmaloka10 sāgar.4 Māhendra› 7 sāgar.3 Sanatkumāra7 sāgar.2 Īśāna› 2 sāgar.1 Saudharma2 sāgar.Madhya Lokahumans live hereBhavanavāsī and Vyantara› 1 sāgar.1 Ratnaprabhā1 sāgar.2 Śarkarāprabhā3 sāgar.3 Vālukāprabhā7 sāgar.4 Paṅkaprabhā10 sāgar.5 Dhūmaprabhā17 sāgar.6 Tamaḥprabhā22 sāgar.7 Mahātamaḥprabhā33 sāgar.longest lifeevery storey, top to bottom · click any rowyou are here
The universe, end to end — Ūrdhva Loka highlighted

Measurements and counts

Kalpa heavens12
Vaimānika Indras10
Graiveyaka abodes9
Anuttara5
Tiers in all26
Vimānas in all84,97,023
Digambara count16 kalpas, plus 9 Anudiśa
HighestSarvārthasiddhi

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समयं गोयम! मा पमायए

Do not be heedless, Gautama, for even a single samaya.

Uttarādhyayana Sūtra 10