Disclaimer: This translation does not guarantee complete accuracy, please confirm with the original page text.
144
- The substances described in the Tattvarthasutra are the same everywhere. Ratnaprabha is positioned above the first layer, the second layer above the second, and the third layer above the third; the third layer is situated above the ghano-dadhi-vallaya, the ghano-dadhi above the ghana-vata-vallaya; the ghana-vata is above the tanu-vata-vallaya, and the tanu-vata is established above the akasha; however, akasha is not established above anyone; it is self-established, because the intrinsic nature of akasha is such that it does not depend on anything else. The second layer is supported by the ghano-dadhi-vallaya; that vallaya is dependent on the ghana-vata-vallaya below it; ghana-vata is dependent on the tanu-vata below; tanu-vata is established above the akasha below, and akasha is self-sustained. This same sequence should be understood for each layer up to the seven layers concerning their relative position with the ghano-dadhi, etc. Although each lower layer has less mass compared to the upper layers, its dimensionality continues to increase significantly. Therefore, its establishment is equivalent to that of a vast canopy, meaning the breadth of the earth continues to expand upwards. The thickness of each of the seven layers has been described previously, with a thousand yojanas removed from each above and below, leaving the remaining central part as narakavas, such as in the case of Ratnaprabha, where one lakh (100,000) is considered, leaving aside a thousand yojanas above and below, the remaining one lakh eighty-four thousand yojanas in the middle represents narak. This understanding should be applied similarly up to the seven layers. The naraks such as Raurava, Raudra, Ghatana, Shocana, etc., are inauspicious names that evoke fear upon being heard.