Answer

In Jain cosmology, the lower worlds are not described as being illuminated by the Sun, Moon, stars, or heavenly lights. Instead, whatever “light” exists there is generally understood to arise from:

• the bodies of the beings living in those hellish realms, and
• the material substances and environment of that particular realm.

This does not mean the place is bright, pleasant, or peaceful. The light is associated with a painful and terrifying existence, not with comfort or spiritual purity.

Explanation

According to Jain understanding, the universe has different regions: upper worlds, middle world, and lower worlds. The hellish realms are in the lower world. Since the Sun and Moon function in the middle world, their light does not illuminate the lower hells.

So when Jain texts and traditional explanations describe visibility or light in hellish realms, it is not ordinary sunlight. It is connected with the nature of that realm itself.

This can be understood in two ways:

• Light from the bodies of hellish beings: The bodies of nārakī beings are not like human bodies. They are formed according to their karma and the conditions of that realm. Their bodies may have their own kind of glow or radiance, but it is not auspicious or beautiful like the radiance of spiritually elevated beings.
• Light from environmental substances: The hellish realms contain specific types of matter, atmosphere, land, and substances suited to the suffering of those beings. Some of these may produce a kind of illumination, glow, heat, or frightening visibility.

So the statement means: there is some form of visibility in those realms, but it does not come from celestial bodies like the Sun or Moon.

Spiritual Understanding

In Jain Dharma, light is not always a symbol of purity. A being may have physical luminosity due to the nature of its body or realm, but that does not mean it is spiritually advanced.

True spiritual light comes from:

• samyag darshan — right faith,
• samyag jnan — right knowledge,
• samyag charitra — right conduct,
• freedom from karma.

The hellish beings may have a form of physical visibility, but their inner condition is full of suffering due to intense painful karmas.

Takeaway

The “light” in hellish realms is not sunlight and not spiritual radiance. It is a karmically conditioned form of illumination arising from the bodies and environment of that realm, within a state of great suffering.