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.

1 Saudharma32,00,000 vimānas · 2 sāgar.2 Īśāna28,00,000 vimānas · › 2 sāgar.3 Sanatkumāra12,00,000 vimānas · 7 sāgar.4 Māhendra8,00,000 vimānas · › 7 sāgar.5 Brahmaloka4,00,000 vimānas · 10 sāgar.6 Lāntaka50,000 vimānas · 14 sāgar.7 Mahāśukra40,000 vimānas · 17 sāgar.8 Sahasrāra6,000 vimānas · 18 sāgar.9 Ānata400 vimānas · 19 sāgar.10 Prāṇatashared · 20 sāgar.11 Āraṇa300 vimānas · 21 sāgar.12 Acyutashared · 22 sāgar.Upper Graiveyaka100 vimānas · 29–31 sāgar.Middle Graiveyaka107 vimānas · 26–28 sāgar.Lower Graiveyaka111 vimānas · 23–25 sāgar.five Anuttara31–33 sāgar.Siddhaśilā45,00,000 yojana across · 8 thick at the centre12 yojana above the Anuttarathe five Anuttara, in planSarvārthasiddhiVijayaVaijayantaJayantaAparājitayou are hereSNtrasanāḍī · 1 rajju7891011121314rajjuThe twenty-six tiers, in sectionsouth to the left, north to the righttwins share a level, an Indra and a tally of vimānasheights follow the plan: a third of a rajju to a kalpa2612 + 9 + 5 · 84,97,023 vimānas
The twenty-six tiers, in section — 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

Connected

Open in the interactive atlas →

समयं गोयम! मा पमायए

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

Uttarādhyayana Sūtra 10