" Seven Lokams "

[Guest guest]

Dear Professor Vasudha Narayanan and fellow members :

 

It is a wondeful conception to view the Sriranga Kshethram

incorporating the seven prAkArams around it as the seven lokams

created by the Lord's empowerment of BrahmA (Bhur, Bhuvar ,

Suvar, Mahar , Jano , Tapo and Satya Lokams . The Conception and

elaboration of the seven lokams is part and parcel of the literature

dealing with the creation of the Universe dealt in PurANAs . Each religion

has attempted to model and understand creation of the world and

its beings and their interrelationships in their way . What I am

assembling here is the version as found in our source literatures.

 

Before I comemnt on the seven lokams , I would like

to point out that bhur , bhuvar and suvar are known

as the Vyaahruthis uttered after OM(PraNavam ) in Sandhya Vandanam

during the recitation of the Gayathri Mantram . After theOM and Vyahruthis ,

the thripaada Gaayathri mantram follows . Incidentally , the Chathurpaadha

Gaayadhri upadesam is rare . Very few know it now.

Coming back to Vyaahruthis , these three lokams

( Bhur, Bhuvar and Suvar ) have a special place among

the seven lokams ; Some smrithis take the Vyaahruthis

to be made up of the assembly of not three , but of seven Lokams

constituting the body of the Parama PurushA .

 

Srimadh Bhagavatham refers to the seven lokams and its denizens

in Cantos II , III , V , VIII , X and XI . The Canto II refers to these lokams

in

detail , while Sukha Brahmam discusses the way of fixing one's mind

on the MahA PurushA saluted by Purusha Sooktham . Our Sri Sundar

of Penn State has translated the Purusha Sooktham beautifully and we

can refer to those translations in Sri VaishNavA home page for back-up ..

 

Canto III describes the ten fold creation of Brahma . There the entry of

Brahma into the seed vessel of his Lotus home and splitting by him of that into

the three worlds (Vyaahruthis ) and their manifestation into 14 regions

that include the 7 nether worlds are covered . In that Canto , the residents of

the Jana , TapO and Satya LokAs are described as reciting the three

VedAs , when they hear the roar of the mighty Varaha PerumAn as

He comes out of the waters of PraLayam . The sages of these three

lokAs thank the Lord for sanctfying them with the sprinkling of

the waters from the shaking of His gigantic body . Sri Narayana

Bhattadhiri's slokams of Sri NarayaNeeyam saluting these events

are beautiful to recite and listen to as sung by Sri Tirisoor Ramachandran,

the disciple of the Late Sangeetha Kalanidhi G.N .BalasubramaNyan .

 

Minor references are made to these seven lokams in Canto V. The canto

dealing with TrivikramAvatharam ( VIII) describes the ascent of

the Lord's second feet thru Mahar lokam , TapO Lokam ,

Jana Lokam to Satya Lokam , the kingdom of His son BrahmA

and receiving the waters of the kamandalu jalam of His son

as Abolution and converting it to the sacred Ganga river held

safely by Lord Siva in His matted locks to protect the world

below from the power of the descending GangA .

 

The XIth Canto Of Srimadh Bhagavatham comes back to

the description of the 7 lokams during the occasion of

the elaboration on Saankhya Yogam ( XI.24 ) .

 

In a companion posting , I will include the essence of the long

passages on the 14 lokams as the body of the Lord (PurushA)

as described in II.1 and XI.24 chapters of Srimadh Bhagavatham .

 

V.Sadagopan