What are the different types of lokas like the yamaloka,swargaloka, prithiviloka, pitrloka, bramhaloka , dhwarka dham etc ?
On what basis a person is sent to one of these lokas?
Who sends him?
As per Hindu Mythology, there are 14 worlds or LOKAS in existence.
7 of these worlds exist above the plane that humans exist on.
- The highest Loka is Satya Loka. This is where Brahma or the supreme conciousness exists, free from the feathers of birth and death.
The dimension under that is know as Tap loka. This world is inhabited by immortal beings, who are personification of knowldge. They are beings or great purity an access Brahma loka(Satya loka) with great ease.
Under this level, is Jan loka, where realised beings live. These are souls of complete and unhindered access to the material world, they can travel to any place at the speed of thought.
- Then comes Mahar loka, the abode of great sages and rishis, these are beings who through long periods of tapasya have become greater than the devas themselves.
- Following this is the swarg loka, a world often mistakenly assumed heaven, this is where deities like Indra exist it is also home to various sages and gandharvas. Mythological accounts show it to be on top of Mount Meru.
- Under the devas is the Bhuvar Loka, this is the realm of the sun and the planets, it is also inhabited by semi divine beings who may occasionally take a part in human world as well.
- Under all these dimensiosns the Bhulok, the 7th plane of existence, this is where human beings reside with all other beings. It is believed, that there are more such world's in Bhulok.
Now coming to the 7 lokas that exist below Bhuloka.
- The 1st world under the human level is Atal, is ruled by Bala, son of Maya, Atal is inhabited by beautiful seductresses and is a place of luxury.
- Under that there is Vital, this is where beings live their lives mining and collecting gold, as with Atal, here too a lot of attention is payed to material possessions.
- Next is Sutal loka, is the world ruled by the demon king Bali, who was once an earthly king who was defeated by Vishnu’s vaman avatar and was allowed to rule this world.
- The world under that is Talatal loka, is the realm of architect Maya, the demon who was father of Mandodari, wife of King Ravana, when Shiva destroyed three cities of Tripura , he allowed Maya to rule third world.
- Under this level is Mahatal loka, a world populated by Hooded Nagas , who leave in peace happy in the thought that they are far from their one and only enemy, Garuda.
- Rasatal loka, is where davanas and daityas live, these beings have long standing enmities with devas.
- Lowest of all is Pataal loka, it is where nagas with many hoods live, their hoods are adorned with gems which loght up the darkest of all the worlds. this world is ruled by the serpent king Vasuki.
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What are the different types of lokas like the yamaloka,swargaloka, prithiviloka, pitrloka, bramhaloka , dhwarka dham etc ?
My dear son Nārada, know from me that there are seven lower planetary systems out of the total fourteen. The first planetary system, known as Atala, is situated on the waist; the second, Vitala, is situated on the thighs; the third, Sutala, on the knees; the fourth, Talātala, on the shanks; the fifth, Mahātala, on the ankles; the sixth, Rasātala, on the upper portion of the feet; and the seventh, Pātāla, on the soles of the feet. Thus the virāṭ form of the Lord is full of all planetary systems. (Srimad Bhagavatam 2:5:40-41)
To draw a parallel with modern science, Hindu cosmology has talked about alternate dimensions in terms of horizontal & vertical worlds. Horizontal dimension is a spread of cosmos on the side ways whereas vertical dimensions talk about 3 layers.
- Urdhva (Higher dominion)
- Bhu-Loka (Middle dominion)
- Adho (Lower dominion)
Both Higher & Lower dominion are further said to have seven sub-divisons (Vyahrtis) namely Bhu, Bhuvar, Svarga, Mahar, Jana, Tapa, and Satyaloka above and seven lower ones (Pātālas) like Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Rasaataala, Talatala, Mahaatala, Patala and Naraka below. Atharva Veda, Vishnu Purana, Srimad Bhagavatam, Padma Purana and Vayu Purana all testify to this cosmological model.
On what basis a person is sent to one of these lokas?
Each loka is a separate realm of existence. In simple terms, it’s the enrichment of human consciousness that defines the metaphysical world it will live. Srimad Bhagvatam links ‘Karma’ as the principal constitute for a soul to move between different lokas. Good Karma leads the soul to ‘urdhva-gati’ literally meaning moving to higher dominion and bad karma leads the soul to ‘adho-gati’ meaning decline to lower dominion.
Who sends him?
Lord Himself. However, this would be half-truth. It is the grand cosmic design by the unborn Supreme which guides journey of soul through this realms of existence.
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