Is it possible that the soul gets stuck in manushya loka before rebirth?
No. In Jainism, there is no waiting period where the soul remains stuck in the human realm (or any other loka) before rebirth.
Key points:
- The soul (jiva) is bound by karma, and after each life ends, its next birth is determined by the accumulated karmic balance.
- There isn’t a prescribed intermediate “stuck” phase between lives. The next janma (birth) arises according to the karmic fruits of the past life.
- The possible destinations include human, celestial (deva), karmic realms of punishment (naraka), or other realms, and the cycle continues until karma is exhausted and keval jnana leads to liberation (moksha).
If you’d like, I can explain how karma determines the next birth (and what kinds of karmas influence it) in simple terms.