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]
Conceptions of three worlds (tri-loka) appear in Hinduism and Jainism, as well as early Buddhist texts.
The Triloka Purusha, the figure who embodies the three worldsTranscending the Three Realms 超出三界圖, 1615 Xingming guizhi
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
In Buddhism, the three worlds refer to the following destinations for karmic rebirth:
Kāmaloka the world of desire, typified by base desires, populated by hell beings, preta (hungry ghosts), animals, humans and lower demi-gods.
Rūpaloka is the world of form, predominantly free of baser desires, populated by dhyāna-dwelling gods, possible rebirth destination for those well practiced in dhyāna.
Arūpaloka is the world of formlessness, a noncorporeal realm populated with four heavens, possible rebirth destination for practitioners of the four formlessness stages.[3]
Together, they make up all of existence.
Jain cosmology
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:[10][11][12][13]
Adho Loka – the realms of the hellish beings or the infernal regions
See also
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.
^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).
^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").
^ abcFischer-Schreiber et al. (1991), p. 230, entry for "Triloka". Here, synonyms for triloka include trailokya and traidhātuka.
^ abBerzin (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."
^www.wisdomlib.org (18 November 2017). "Trailokya: 19 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
^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.
^www.wisdomlib.org (20 June 2019). "Vaivasvata Manvantara: the Mārīca creation [Chapter 38]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
^www.wisdomlib.org (27 September 2008). "Triloka, Tri-loka: 12 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
^www.wisdomlib.org (28 January 2019). "Story of Vāmana". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
Berzin, Alexander (6 March 2008). Berzin Archives Glossary. Retrieved Sunday 13 July 2008 from "Berzin Archives" at http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/about/glossary/glossary_tibetan.html.
Fischer-Schreiber, Ingrid, Franz-Karl Ehrhard, Michael S. Diener and Michael H. Kohn (trans.) (1991). The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen. Boston: Shambhala Publications. ISBN 0-87773-520-4.
Monier-Williams, Monier (1899, 1964). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-864308-X. Retrieved 2008-07-13 from "Cologne University" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/index.php?sfx=pdf.
Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary. Chipstead: Pali Text Society. Retrieved 2008-07-13 from "U. Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/.
W. E. Soothill & L. Hodous (1937-2000). A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 81-208-0319-1.
Grimes, John A. (1996), A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English, SUNY Press, ISBN 9780791430675, retrieved 10 September 2017
Titze, Kurt; Bruhn, Klaus (1998), Jainism: A Pictorial Guide to the Religion of Non-violence, Motilal Banarsidass Publication, ISBN 9788120815346, retrieved 10 September 2017
Wiley, Kristi L. (2009), The A to Z of Jainism, Scarecrow Press, ISBN 9780810868212, retrieved 10 September 2017
Raval, Mukundchandra G. (2016), Meru: The Center of our Earth, Notion Press, ISBN 9781945400100, retrieved 10 September 2017
External links
Bullitt, John T. (2005). The Thirty-one Planes of Existence. Retrieved 2007-04-30 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sagga/loka.html.
