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Article: Writings on the universe
Contributed by Nalini Balbir
The religious importance of understanding the traditional conception of the universe means that scholars and devotees have made strong efforts to pass on Jain cosmology. This is usually in written texts on cosmology but visual art has also been an important way to spread knowledge.
There are three main areas of Jain literature that are sources for details of cosmology. The scriptural source is the most significant, followed by popular stories and then numerous references in a variety of works.
On the whole, the diverse Jain religious groups agree on cosmology. Both main sects support the religious authority of the Tattvārtha-sūtra, which is a key Jain text with a long section on cosmology. This underscores the crucial part of cosmological theory in the basic tenets of Jain belief. There are some differences, however, between the beliefs of Śvetāmbara and Digambara Jains, which can be spotted in the textual traditions of each group.
Tattvārtha-sūtra
One of the most concise, comprehensive and earliest accounts of Jain cosmology is the Tattvārtha-sūtra. Written in Sanskrit in the first centuries of the Common Era and the only text considered an authoritative scripture by Śvetāmbaras and Digambaras alike, the Tattvārtha-sūtra summarises the main principles of Jain belief.
After describing the nature of the soul in chapter two, the Tattvārtha-sūtra gives the various places where it can take rebirth in chapters three and four.
Chapter three
Continent of Kuṇḍala
Image by British Library © CC0 1.0 (Creative Commons Public Domain)
The third chapter of the Tattvārtha-sūtra goes into great detail about the lower and middle worlds of the Jain universe.
These areas are two of the regions of world space where souls move through the cycle of birth over many lifetimes. The souls are born into different bodies and lives throughout various parts of the Jain triple worlds according to the karma their behaviour has created in previous births.
The following table summarises the headings in chapter three.
|
The lower region: the seven infernal lands |
The middle region |
|---|---|
|
Dimensions and topography |
Concentric islands and oceans |
|
Strata and dwelling places for the infernal beings |
Jambū Island’s geography |
|
Physical make-up of the infernal beings |
The seven continents of Jambū:
|
|
Sufferings of the infernal beings |
Dhātakīkhaṇḍa Island |
|
Lifespans of the infernal beings |
Puṣkara Island |
|
|
Islands of human habitation |
|
|
The two classes of humans |
|
|
Continents where spiritual effort is possible |
|
|
Lifespans of humans |
|
|
Lifespans of animals and lower organisms |
Chapter four
Gods enjoy life in the heavens
Image by British Library © CC0 1.0 (Creative Commons Public Domain)
The fourth chapter provides an immense amount of detail about the upper world of the Jain universe. The upper world is where many deities reside, although gods and goddesses are also found in other parts of the three worlds. The lives of the gods are characterised by pleasure and lack of effort, unlike the lives of human beings in the Lands of Action. The gods are in a higher spiritual condition than human beings but are not liberated souls. Only human beings can reach omniscience and liberation so it is better to be born as a human being in the middle world than a god in the upper world.
The following table summarises the headings in chapter four of the Tattvārtha-sūtra.
|
Colouring of the gods |
|
Types of gods within each class |
|
Chiefs and other grades of gods |
|
Sexual pleasures of the gods |
|
1. The ten types of mansion-dwelling gods |
|
2. The eight types of forest gods |
|
3. The five types of luminous gods
|
|
4. The empyrean gods
|
|
Subhumans (animals, plants, micro-organisms) |
|
Lifespans of the gods
|
|
Lifespans of infernal beings
|
Contents
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