1663-1664

The Jain Cosmography (Sangrahanisutra)

The concentric circles seen on the left in this painting represent continents surrounded by the Arunavara Ocean. On the right is the third stage of the fifth-level heaven of the gods (Brahmaloka), indicated by a small shrine at the center of which is enthroned the Indra of this particular heaven stage. In a wonderfully graphic representation, the heavy, curved black lines leading from the ocean are the "black stuff" (krishnarajis)--a substance made of water and particles of vegetation--that flows from the Arunavara Ocean to the heights of Brahmaloka. Every soul must be reborn several times within this mass, and it is from there that various gods and semi-divine beings produce rain and thunder.