creation and expansion of worlds
In Jainism, there is no creation by a supreme creator. The universe (loka) is eternal and undergoes cyclic phases, not a single act of creation.
- Time cycles: The cosmos moves in two half-cycles—utsarpiṇī (ascending) and avsarpiṇī (descending). Each half-cycle brings changes in happiness, virtue, and movement within the world, but without a beginning or end to the universe itself.
- Structure: The universe is divided into three realms—Urdhva Loka (upper/heavenly beings), Madhya Loka (humans, animals, plants), and Adho Loka (lower realms/hells). Sentient beings wander through these realms based on karma.
- Creation vs. dissolution: What happens over vast timescales is described as growth and dissolution of phenomena, not a creation event by a god. This process is natural and governed by the karmic law that shapes each being’s fate.
- Divine beings: Gods and other beings within the upper realms are part of the same cosmic order and are not creators of the cosmos; they themselves are embodied souls subject to karma.
Differences between Digambar and Shvetambar traditions mainly concern details and emphasis in cosmology, but both share the core idea that the universe is uncreated and evolves through time cycles rather than through a creator’s fiat.