---
type: Concept
bundle: cosmology-creation
bundle_version: "0.7.0"
id: sapta-loka
title: "Sapta-Loka / Chaturdaśa-Loka — सप्त-लोक / चतुर्दश-लोक"
iast: "Sapta-Loka"
devanagari: "सप्त-लोक"
description: "The seven upper realms (or the full fourteen-realm system of Chaturdaśa-Loka) constituting the Purāṇic cosmological map of the Brahmāṇḍa; NOT a literal physical geography but a map of states of existence organized by consciousness-quality, dharmic state, and karmic position; Bhūr (earth) is the third realm, not the lowest -- the seven lower realms (Pātāla) exist below it."
darshana:
  - Purāṇic
  - Vedānta
school_scope: "Pan-Purāṇic structural framework; the seven upper realms are consistently named across texts though their inhabitants and descriptions vary; the seven lower realms (Pātāla) are treated more extensively in some Purāṇas (BhP 5.24-25) than others; the framework is used in Jyotiṣa (astrological) and Tantra (body-cosmos homology) contexts as well"
text_source: "BhP 5.17-26 (full Loka description); Viṣṇu Purāṇa 2.1-9; Manu-Smṛti 1.10"
tags: [cosmology, sapta-loka, loka, brahmaloka, svarga, patala, brahmanda, puranic]
not:
  - term: "seven literal physical worlds / planets"
    why: "The Lokas are not seven separate physical planets or dimensions in the astrophysical sense. They are organized levels of existence within the Brahmāṇḍa, differentiated by consciousness-quality: the higher the Loka, the more refined the embodiment, the longer the lifespan, the more sattva-dominant the experience. Some are experiential states that correspond to what we might call 'subtle planes'; some overlap with the gross physical world."
    instead: "Translate as 'realms of existence' or 'planes' rather than 'worlds' or 'planets'; specify which Loka when relevant (Bhūrloka = the earthly plane, Svarloka = the celestial realm, Brahmaloka = the highest realm within the Brahmāṇḍa, etc.)."
  - term: "heaven and hell (Christian model)"
    why: "The seven lower realms (Pātāla) are NOT equivalent to Christian hell, and Svarloka/Brahmaloka are NOT equivalent to Christian heaven. The Purāṇic Lokas are temporary karmic residences, not permanent post-death judgments. Beings in Svarloka exhaust their good karma and return to Bhūrloka; beings in Pātāla exhaust negative karma and return. The framework is cyclic and karmic, not linear and judgmental."
  - term: "Bhūrloka is the lowest realm"
    why: "Bhūrloka is the third of the seven upper realms (Bhūr, Bhuvar, Svar are the three lower of the seven upper realms). Seven additional Pātāla realms exist below Bhūrloka. Earth (Bhūrloka) is the middle realm in a vertical structure of 14, not the lowest. This matters because it positions human existence at the hinge-point: accessible to both higher and lower realms."
related:
  - /concepts/brahmanda.md
  - /concepts/virat.md
  - /concepts/kala.md
  - /concepts/pralaya.md
timestamp: "2026-07-01"
okf_version: "0.2"
license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

# Sapta-Loka / Chaturdaśa-Loka -- सप्त-लोक / चतुर्दश-लोक

**Not:** seven physical planets, heaven and hell, Bhūrloka as the lowest realm

## The Fourteen Lokas

The complete Purāṇic cosmological map (Chaturdaśa-Loka = 14 Lokas) is organized vertically within the Brahmāṇḍa:

### Seven Upper Realms (Ūrdhvaloka / Sapta-Loka)

| # | Loka | Name | Characteristic |
|---|------|------|----------------|
| 7 | Satya-loka (Brahmaloka) | Realm of Truth / Brahmā | Highest within the manifest; Brahmā resides here; persists until Mahā Pralaya; beings here attain near-liberation |
| 6 | Tapa-loka | Realm of Austerity | Beings of intense tapas; persists through Naimittika Pralaya |
| 5 | Jana-loka | Realm of People / Creation | Sages like Sanaka, Sanandana; persists through Naimittika Pralaya |
| 4 | Mahar-loka | Realm of the Great | Brahmarṣis; persists through Naimittika Pralaya |
| 3 | Svar-loka (Svarga) | Celestial Realm | Devatas, Indra; dissolves at Naimittika Pralaya |
| 2 | Bhuvar-loka | Intermediate Realm | Subtle beings, Siddhas; between earth and sun |
| 1 | Bhūr-loka | Earth Realm | Our gross physical world; dissolves at Naimittika Pralaya |

### Seven Lower Realms (Pātāla / Adholoka)

| # | Loka | Name | Characteristic |
|---|------|------|----------------|
| -1 | Atala | Realm below | |
| -2 | Vitala | Realm of Śiva's followers | |
| -3 | Sutala | Realm of Bali (Mahāviṣṇu present here per BhP) | |
| -4 | Talātala | Realm of Maya Dānava | |
| -5 | Mahātala | Realm of Nāgas | |
| -6 | Rasātala | Realm of Dānavas and Daityas | |
| -7 | Pātāla | Deepest realm; Nāgarāja Vāsuki resides here; described as beautiful in BhP 5.24 |

Note: BhP 5.24 describes the Pātāla realms as exceptionally beautiful, not as places of torment. They are not hells; they are realms for specific categories of beings (Nāgas, Dānavas, Daityas) who have their own dharmic existence there. Naraka (Yamaloka) -- the realm of karmic processing under Yama -- is a separate realm below Pātāla, not identified with Pātāla itself.

## Earth's Position: the Hinge-Point

Bhūrloka (earth) occupies the 1st of 7 upper realms and the 8th of 14 total realms. This position is cosmologically significant: from Bhūrloka, both upward mobility (toward Svarga, Brahmaloka, liberation) and downward mobility (into the Pātāla realms) are possible. The Purāṇic tradition often presents human birth in Bhūrloka as especially precious precisely because it sits at this hinge-point -- with enough consciousness to choose the upward direction, with enough limitation to experience the urgency of that choice.

## What Lokas Actually Are

The Lokas are not separate physical locations that a rocket could reach. They are levels of existence organized by:

1. **Consciousness-quality**: Higher Lokas have beings with more sattva, more refined awareness
2. **Temporal scale**: Higher Lokas have much longer lifespans; Brahmaloka's lifespan = Brahmā's lifespan
3. **Karmic condition**: Movement between Lokas follows karmic law (accumulated karma determines which Loka a jīva inhabits after death in Bhūrloka)
4. **Dissolution-timing**: Lower Lokas dissolve at Naimittika Pralaya; higher Lokas (Mahar through Satya) persist until Mahā Pralaya

This is a consciousness-cosmology, not a physical cosmology. It maps states of existence, not locations in spacetime.

## Audience Metaphor

The fourteen Lokas are like fourteen floors of a building, with Bhūrloka on the eighth floor (the lobby level -- where all traffic enters and exits). The floors above (Bhuvar through Satya) are increasingly refined executive suites; the floors below (Atala through Pātāla) are specialized departments. An employee (jīva) can be promoted to a higher floor (good karma / upward rebirth) or reassigned to a lower floor (negative karma) after their current stint in the lobby ends. The goal is not to stay in the building forever but to walk out the front door entirely (Mokṣa = Ātyantika Pralaya). The building dissolves at closing time (Mahā Pralaya) -- but the street outside (Brahman) was always there.

## Citations

1. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 5.17-26 -- the most detailed Purāṇic treatment of all 14 Lokas, cosmic geography, and Pātāla description; see references/bhagavata-purana.md
2. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 5.24 -- Pātāla realms described as beautiful, not hellish
3. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 2.1-9 -- structural description of Lokas within the Brahmāṇḍa; see references/vishnu-purana.md
4. Manu-Smṛti 1.10 -- cosmological ordering; see references/manusmriti.md
