Trailokya

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]

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.

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]

• Urdhva Loka – the realms of the gods or heavens
• Madhya Loka – the realms of the humans, animals and plants
• Adho Loka – the realms of the hellish beings or the infernal regions

• Loka
• Six Paths
• Svarga
• Trikaya

• 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

• 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.