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Trailokya

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Sculpture of Vamana, an avatar of Vishnu, who is associated with the legend of taking three strides upon the three worlds

Trailokya (Sanskrit: त्रैलोक्य; Kannada: ತ್ರೈಲೋಕ್ಯ; Pali: tiloka, Tibetan: khams gsum; Chinese: 三界; Vietnamese: Tam Giới) literally means "three worlds".[1][2][3] It can also refer to "three spheres,"[3] "three planes of existence,"[4] and "three realms".[4]

Various schemas of three realms (tri-loka) appear in the main Indian religions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

The Triloka Purusha, the figure who embodies the three worlds
Transcending the Three Realms 超出三界圖, 1615 Xingming guizhi

Hindu cosmology

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The concept of three worlds has a number of different interpretations in Hindu cosmology.

  • Traditionally, the three worlds refer to either the earth (Bhuloka), heaven (Svarga), and hell (Naraka),[5] or the earth (Bhuloka), heaven (Svarga), and the netherworld (Patala).[6]
  • The Brahmanda Purana conceives them to be Bhūta (past), Bhavya (future), and Bhavat (present).[7]
  • In Vaishnavism, the three worlds are often described to be bhūr, bhuvaḥ, and svaḥ (the gross region, the subtle region, and the celestial region).[8]
  • In the Nilanamatapurana, Vamana covers his second step on the three worlds of Maharloka, Janaloka, and Tapoloka, all of which are regarded to be a part of the seven heavens.[9]

Buddhist cosmology

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In Buddhism, the three worlds refer to the following destinations for karmic rebirth:

  • Kāma-loka (world of desire), is a plane of existence typified by base desires, populated by hell beings, preta (hungry ghosts), animals, humans, lower demi-gods (asuras) and gods (devas) of the desire realm heavens.
  • Rūpa-loka (world of form), a realm predominantly free of baser desires, populated by higher level devas. It is a possible rebirth destination for those well practiced in dhyāna (meditative absorption).
  • Arūpa-loka (the world of formlessness), a non-corporeal realm populated with four heavens. It is a possible rebirth destination for practitioners of the four formlessness stages of meditation (arūpa-samāpatti).[3]

According to Theravada Buddhism, these are all the realms of existence outside of nirvana, which transcends all three realms. According to Mahayana Buddhism however, the buddhafields (also known as pure lands) are lands which are beyond the three realms.[10]

Jain cosmology

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The early Jain contemplated the nature of the earth and universe and developed a detailed hypothesis on the various aspects of astronomy and cosmology. According to the Jain texts, the universe is divided into 3 parts:[11][12][13][14]

See also

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Fourteen Rajaloka or Triloka depicted as cosmic man. Miniature from 17th century, Saṁgrahaṇīratna by Śrīcandra, in Prakrit with a Gujarati commentary. Jain Śvetāmbara cosmological text with commentary and illustrations.

Notes

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  1. ^ Monier-Williams (1899), p. 460, col. 1, entry for "[Tri-]loka" (retrieved at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0460-trimala.pdf) and p. 462, col. 2, entry for "Trailoya" (retrieved at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/MWScanpdf/mw0462-tripu.pdf).
  2. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 301, entry for "Ti-" (retrieved at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?p.1:129.pali[permanent dead link]). Here, tiloka is compared with tebhūmaka ("three planes").
  3. ^ a b c Fischer-Schreiber et al. (1991), p. 230, entry for "Triloka". Here, synonyms for triloka include trailokya and traidhātuka.
  4. ^ a b Berzin (2008) renders khams-gsum (Wylie; Tibetan) and tridhatu (Sanskrit) as "three planes of existence" and states that it is "[s]ometimes called 'the three realms.'" Tridhatu is a synonym of triloka where dhatu may be rendered as "dimension" or "realm" and loka as "world" or even "planet."
  5. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (18 November 2017). "Trailokya: 19 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  6. ^ Maruvada, Surya N. (2 March 2020). Who is Who in Hindu Mythology - VOL 2: A Comprehensive Collection of Stories from the Pur??as. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-64805-686-4.
  7. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (20 June 2019). "Vaivasvata Manvantara: the Mārīca creation [Chapter 38]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  8. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (27 September 2008). "Triloka, Tri-loka: 12 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  9. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (28 January 2019). "Story of Vāmana". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  10. ^ Jones, Charles B. (2019). Chinese Pure Land Bu. ddhism, Understanding a Tradition of Practice, p. 48University of Hawai‘i Press / Honolulu.
  11. ^ Grimes 1996, p. 177.
  12. ^ Titze & Bruhn 1998, p. 238.
  13. ^ Wiley 2009, p. 131.
  14. ^ Raval 2016, p. 81.

Sources

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