Scientific Vision of Lord Mahavira

Author(s): Chaitanyapragyashreeji
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

Page 57

The Model of the Universe in the Bh.S.
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continues with Puskara Island, the Puskara ocean, Varuna island, the Varuna ocean, Ksīra island, the Ksīra ocean and so on unto the Svayambhuramana ocean that rings the last island of the same name. In this way there are innumerable islands and oceans in the mid-part of the universe (See figure10). The middle regin is again divided into fifteen Karmabhūmi and thirty Akarmabhūmi. Besides, there are many mountains as depicted below in the figure-11 in appendix.
(iii) The Lower Section
The part of the universe that is below the middle section is known as the lower section (adho-loka). The lower section is a little more than seven rajjus in dimentions.77 There are seven lands, one below the other.78 They are known as seven 'Narakas' (Hells). Mostly, the infernal beings live in these lands. Each land is having a wider base than the one above. From top to bottom, these lands are commonly recognised as the gem-hued, pebble-hued, sand-hued, mud-hued, smoke-hued, dark and pitch-dark lands (See figure1). Each land floats on a dense ocean, which floats on a layer of dense air, which floats on a layer of thin air, which floats on self-supporting space. 79
The seven infernal lands indicated as gem-hued etc. are technically known as 1. Ratnaprabhā, 2. Sarkarāprabhā, 3. Bālukāprabhā, 4. Pankaprabhā, 5. Dhūmaprabhā, 6. Tamahprabhā, 7. Mahātamahprabhā.80 The dwelling places of the infernal being are within these lands. They inhabit all of the infernal lands except for the top 1000 Yojanas and the bottom 1000 Yojanas of each. According to the Bh.S and other philosophical texts,82 the number of strata and dwelling places in the neather lands are as follows:
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as
Table No. 1 Infernal or Neather lands
Number
Number of
of Strata's Dwelling Places Gem-hued (Ratna-Prabhā)
3,000,000 Pebble-hued (Sarkarā-Prabhā)
2,500,000 Sand-hued (Bālukā-Prabhā)
1,500,000 Mud-hued (Panka-Prabhā)
1,000,000 Smoke-hued (Dhūma-Prabhā)
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300,000 Dark (Tamah-Prabhā)
99.995 Pitch-dark (Mahātamah-Prabhā)
01 The seven neather (infernal) lands are divided by huge gaps occupied by layers of dense oceans, dense air, thin air and interspace.83 The dense ocean between each land is 20.000 Yojanas deep, but the layers of dense and thin air and the interspace increase, the further down the cosmos they are, so that the deepest layers are above the seventh infernal land. According to
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