Sramana 2012 04

Author(s): Shreeprakash Pandey, Ashokkumar Singh
Publisher: Parshvanath Vidhyashram Varanasi

Page 6

From Chairman's desk
The cover picture on this issue of śramana depicts "The Cosmic Man” (Lokapuruşa) which is an important feature of Jain cosmology. Loka or cosmos as Jain cosmology is an eternal entity and is the home of all the six substance types namely; living beings, matter, space, time and principles of motion and rest. It is surrounded by an infinite void which is called Aloka where only space exists.
This Universe, according to Jainism, is broad at the top, narrow at the middle and once again becomes broad at the bottom. The Jain universe is divided into three basic realms, which together form the composite “Cosmic Man” or Lokapuruṣa. The legs of cosmic man represent a series of seven hells having living beings always in pain, the smallest part of the universe represented by the disk at the Lokapuruṣa's waist, called the middle world where mixture of pain and pleasure is experienced and all liberated souls attain their status from this part of the cosmos. When this occurs, the perfected soul floats to the top of the universe and eternally resides in the crescentshaped realm above the heavens, shown at the forehead of the Lokapuruşa. The upper world or the part above the middle world is divided into different abodes. It is the realm of the heavenly beings (demi-gods) i.e. non-liberated souls.
The word cosmic man is derived from the fact that the shape of loka is similar to the shape of a human being standing with his legs wide apart and hands on his waist.
The āgamas which describe the Jain cosmology and geography in a great detail are-Sūryaprajñapti, Jambūdvīpaprajñapti, Trilokasāra, Trilokaprajñapti, Candraprajñapti, Trilokadīpikā, Tattvārthasūtra, Kșetrasamāsa and Brhatsamgrahaņī.