Answer

According to Jainism, the universe is beginningless, endless, and uncreated. It was not made by any creator God. It exists by its own nature and operates through the laws of karma and the eternal substances of reality.

Explanation

Jain cosmology says the universe is divided into two main parts:

• Loka: the inhabited universe, where all souls, matter, time, and motion exist
• Aloka: the empty space beyond the universe, where nothing exists except space itself

The Loka is often described as having the shape of a standing human figure:

• Upper world: heavenly realms
• Middle world: the human world and earthly regions
• Lower world: infernal realms

Jainism teaches that the universe is made of six eternal substances:

• Jiva — soul
• Pudgala — matter
• Dharma — medium of motion
• Adharma — medium of rest
• Akasha — space
• Kala — time

These substances are always present, but they change forms and combinations continuously.

Spiritual Understanding

In Jain Dharma, the universe is not seen as something created for one being’s will. Instead, it is a moral and cosmic order where every soul experiences the results of its own karma.

This understanding teaches us:

• the world is governed by cause and effect
• every soul is responsible for its own bondage and liberation
• liberation is possible by purification of karma

Takeaway

In Jainism, the universe is eternal, self-existent, and law-governed. It has no beginning and no creator, and it contains all beings and realms within the vast structure of Loka, while Aloka remains the infinite empty space beyond it.