The fourteen (7*2) Worlds (Lokas)

I think this is the lengthiest posts among the others I have written so far. I have mentioned about Lokas again and again in many of my olden posts. It cannot be easily understood as this concept will make you feel that you understood it fully but will leave you blank the next minute (own experience!!!). When you go deeper and deeper into this topic, you will have so many questions. The very basic thing that we do immediately is comparing these worlds with that of Earth and other Planets. That is the main reason why we say these are pure mythology and not fact. We also say that these are imaginary and do not exist at all. Let us first see from mythological perspective and then see how we should/should not connect with science.

According to Hindu scriptures, there are 14 Worlds in our material Universe (there are many Universes - Multiverse). Many times you would have heard the same  from classical songs also. For example, in "என்ன தவம் செய்தனை யசோதா" song, there is a line which says "ஈரேழு புவனங்கள் படைத்தவனை". We have also heard about "Swarka" and "Naraka". But ever wondered what are the fourteen worlds? where are they? Who live in there? Is it pure mythology or fact? If fact then why can't we locate them? So many questions Isn't it? Let us explore.....

See this Multiverse theory in the form of youtube video. Don't you think that we told this long before in a simple saying "Akilanda kodi Brahmanda nayaka"?

The Worlds are fourteen. But scriptures sometime say "Three Lokas". In the story of "Mahabali" "Vishnu" takes "Vamana Avatar" and measures three worlds "மண், விண், பாதாளம்". Please understand that these three classifications are basic as Urdhva - higher, Madhya - middle and Adho - lower and in each one of them there are many Worlds. Thus the Worlds are 14 in total. Some people classify them as seven higher planetary systems and seven lower planetary systems. So the fourteen Worlds are:

HIGHER PLANETARY SYSTEMS                                   LOWER PLANETARY SYSTEMS

1. Sathya Loka                                                                   Atala - Loka

2. Tapa - Loka                                                                   Vitala - Loka
3. Jana - Loka                                                                    Sutala - Loka
4. Mahar - Loka                                                                 Talatala - Loka
5. Svar - Loka                                                                    Mahatala - Loka
6. Bhuvar - Loka                                                                Rasatala - Loka
7. Bhu - Loka                                                                     Patala - Loka

These 14 Worlds are also within our body as 14 Chakras (7 upper (shown in image) and 7 lower (see image below)) like how five elements (pancha bootham) fire, water, sky, air and earth are within our body. When you search more about kundalini yoga, you can know more about these chakras and their effects on the body. That is why whenever we talk about universe in spirtual aspects, we get an answer that "You are that" "Aham Brahmasmi"

Now let us see the Lokas one by one in detail. I will mention the details as they are in the scriptures, about the distance between each Worlds, who lives in there etc. It is really interesting for those who are curious about this. Please take a look into Jain cosmology of these worlds as well :

1. SATHYA LOKA : This is the highest world in this material Universe and it is the abode of Lord Brahma. we have already seen that his one day + night is 8.6 billion years (refer my end of the world - dooms day post). He lives here along with Goddess Saraswathi. Those who have attained highest spiritual enlightenment (after many many jenmas) in this material Universe, also reach this place and live here (Moksha within this material universe may be!!!!). At the time of final dissolution, (Maha Pralaya which happens when Brahma completes his 100 years of life span according to the time calculations in this Loka - roughly 311 trillion and 40 billion human years) people living here transform their subtle bodies into spiritual bodies and enter the Vaikuntha planets which begins 26,200,000 yojanas (1 yojana = 8 miles and therefore 209600000 miles) above Sathya Loka. The distance between Sun and Sathya Loka is mentioned as 233,800,000 yojanas ( 1,870,400,000 miles). We can also take it from scientific point of view. Considering the ever expanding Universe, all planets and stars have birth and death. Pralaya and Maha Pralaya could be death of few stars/planets and life beginning afresh in different stars/planets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahma

2. TAPA LOKA : This is situated 120,000,000 yojanas below Sathya Loka (960,000,000 miles). The four sons of Brahma (popularly called as Sanathkumaras) named Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana and Sanath live here. When Brahma created Universe first, these kumaras are the first beings created by him to aid him in the creation process. But they were not interested in worldly life and hence refused to aid in the creation process. They opted for ever-lasting devotion to God and thus got a boon to live for the entire life of this material Universe (till the full life time of Brahma) and to retain their age as 5.

3. JANA LOKA : It is situated 80,000,000 yojanas (640,000,000 miles) below Tapa Loka. This is the abode of great saints and sages who have attained more spiritual powers than the other lower Lokas They are able to travel between different worlds in such a speed which is unimaginable to us. At the time of final dissolution, (their dissolution time is different) they transfer their subtle bodies to the highest Loka of this material Universe, Sathya Loka. 

4. MAHAR LOKA : This is situated 20,000,000 yojanas (160,000,000 miles) below Jana Loka. This is also an abode of Rishis and sages but who are little lower in spiritual powers than compared to Jana Loka. Bhrigu Muni lives here. This is located in Inter Galactical space beyond the pivotal point for the turning of Universe. The life span of this Loka and people living in here are 4,300,000,000 solar years. At the time of dissolution, they transform themselves to Sathya Loka.

5. SVAR LOKA - This is what we often call as Swarga Loka and everybody knows at least a little about this. It is where Indra and the Demi-Gods (Devas) live. Apsaras like Ramba, Menaka, Urvasi also live here. The capital of this Loka is Amaravathi. They have the wish fulfilling tree (Karpaga Tree) and cow (Kamadhenu) etc to live their life blissfully here. But not thorough bliss. They also need to fight with Asuras often who try to take control of the Devas and conquer their world. This Loka is the one we call as Heaven where virtuous beings go after death to get their good deeds rewarded. This is in the milky way galaxy beyond Saptarishi Mandala and Pole Star (Dhuruva). This Loka will also be destroyed at the end of every pralaya (one day of Brahma). But till that time Devas also undergo rebirth. If they advance spiritually they go to higher levels or if they indulge only in material pleasures then they go to lower levels and also born as humans. Many stories that we have heard about "Sabham - Curse" often tell that such devas have become humans, animals and also beasts. 

6. BHUVAR LOKA : This is the place which corresponds to our own Solar System and hence include the Sun, Moon, Stars and Planets in our solar system and also include Saptarishi Mandala (Ursa Major Constellation) and Dhuruvaloka (Polaris, the pole star). Semi-divine beings including Sidhas, Charanas and Vidhyadharas live here. When they advance in their spiritual levels they go to the next highest Loka that is Svar Loka. Bhuvar Loka also includes the sky called "Antariksh" which is considered as the lowest of the higher Lokas but immediately about the realm of earth. And this place is considered to be the abode of Yakshas, Rakshashas, Ghosts and other etheral beings. Since this is the Loka which is immediately above Bhu Loka (Earth), we consider these planets, sun, moon and stars influence human life in some way and thus they constitute the major part of "Astrology".

But one thing I would like to mention here. We all have so far visualized Devas and Gods in human form only. Why because since we are humans (and we do not have dimension beyond sixth dimension) we imagine them also as humans. This is another reason why we consider these as mythology. But they could be in different forms as well. So, when we talk about Surya Chandra etc, we should not directly personify them as humans. Instead we should take them as deities who have been assigned the job for the functionality of the said planets/stars. Also since we talked about astrology here, it is worth mentioning that the planetary arrangements are different in vedic astrology when compared to modern astronomy. The following video is worth watching to get an idea about that.

7. BHU LOKA : This we all know. This is planet Earth, home for humans and other species like insects and animals. Since we all live here it does not need much explanation. So let us move to the lower planetary systems (Adho Lokas).

8. ATALA LOKA : Basically the lower lokas start 70000 yojanas (560000 miles) below Earth. These are also known as Bila-Swarga because they indulge in extreme material pleasure, very much more even that of Devas. This is because they have very little or zero sense of spiritualism. Hence these are considered as dark planets where the rays of sun cannot even reach. Hence they are artificially lit by means of gems and jewels and they have no day and night. Atala Loka is the first among the lower lokas. It is ruled by the son of Maya called Bala who has mystical powers.

9. VITALA LOKA : Vitala is ruled by Hara bhava - a form of Shiva along with Bhavani. (We should not take this as Lord Shiva as such but only an "Amsam" or a "different form" of him.

10. SUTALA LOKA : This is the kingdom of Mahabali who is the main character in Vamana Avatar story. After he surrendered to God, he got many riches and was made the king of this Loka. He also has the boon to become the eighth "Indra" (current Indra is "Puranthara" ) in the next manvanthra (eighth) which is going to be preceded by "Savarni Manu".

11. TALATALA LOKA : This is the realm of Maya. Once he created three flying cities and did many attrocities and became a night mare to Devas and Rishis. Hence they all went and complained to Lord Shiva, who then destroyed king Maya's three kingdoms in "Tripura Samhara". Then Maya surrendered to Lord Shiva and pleased by this, Shiva offered this realm to him to rule.

12 - 14. MAHATALA - PAATALA : The residents of these realms are known to be Danavas, Daithyas and Nagas. Thakshaka and Vasuki live here. Thakshaka played an important role in the epic Mahabaratha in the Kurukshethra war. Another Naga princess called Uloopi took Arjuna to Nagaloka (Paatala) and a kid called "Iraavaan" was born to them.

One important point to note here is the "Viswaroopa" shown by Krishna to Arjuna in Mahabarath included these 14 worlds in his body and the lower planets were seen in the lower parts of his body.

NARAKA LOKA (HELLISH PLANETS) - Beneath the seven lower lokas, just above the water of the Garbhodhaka Ocean", in the southern part of the Universe, Naraka Loka is located. Pithru Loka also is situated here. They are mentioned separately and hence do not come under the 14 Lokas. I was wondering why they do not form part of the 14 Lokas. May be since they are temporary (after punishments and certain period of stay in pitru lokha beings are reborn in Earth) and hence they are mentioned like this. Swarga Loka is also a place for virtuous beings but since Devas live permanantly there they are included in 14 Lokas. Types of Narakas are mentioned differently in many scriptures. Overall there are 28 types of Narakas where sinful beings are punished in different ways. This area is controlled by "Yama Dharma" along with his assitant "Chithra Gupta". Few examples of sins that are punished here are :

1. Stealing another person's wealth or wife
2. Deceiving another person
3. Cooking animals and birds alive
4. Eating food without sharing with elders, children, guests etc
5. Lying or giving false promises in business etc.

The list runs on but did not want to go into detail about various types of narakas, sins and punishments and hence gave only the basic summary. Those who are interested in reading can go to this link :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naraka_%28Hinduism%29

After reading this post fully, one might wonder, where are the main Gods "Shiva" and "Vishnu". When we visualize the material universe as a big egg (Andam), We can see that these two gods are in the two extremes. (We can equate this as north pole and south pole as in planet Earth). Here is an image for you to get clear visualization. The top left is the abode of Shiva and the right is the abode of Durga. The bottom, near the Garbhodhaka ocean, is the abode of Vishnu and Lakshmi.

For your further reading :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patala
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabali
http://vedabase.net/sb/2/5/40-41/en2
file:///C:/Users/viji/Downloads/18-maha-puranas-in-english%20(2).pdf

Thank you all for reading and I welcome your comments and criticisms.