These cosmological diagrams, which are essentially maps of theological beliefs, show the entire cosmos comprised of three continents that are concentrically arranged and separated by oceans.

At the centre of the map is the continent of Jambudvīpa, the 'land of the rose-apple tree', which exists in Jain cosmology as the central realm, 'the middle world', from which liberation of the cycle of rebirth is possible. Its axis is Mount Sumeru, in the ‘middle world’ (madhyaloka), the only realm in the Jain cosmology where humans can be born. This is also where Jain devotees can attain enlightenment, following the path of the historical saviors, the Jinas (awakened ones) or Tirtankaras (ford crossers).

Surrounding Jambudvīpa is first the Salt Ocean (Lavanasamudra), followed by the ring-shaped continent Dhatakikhandadvipa. Radiating further out is a second water body, the Black Water Ocean (Kalodadhi), populated with fish.

Finally, there is the inner half of the third continent of Puṣkaradvīpa, which is bordered on its outer edge with a serrated ring marking the mountain range beyond which men cannot go. Outside this 'middle world', in the four corners, are temples enshrining Jinas, flanked by celebrants holding flywhisks and celestial attendants offering garlands.

The Sunderland Collection

This richly detailed chart presents Aḍhāī-dvīpa, the cosmological map of the universe according to the Jain religion. Jainism stressed a spatial boundlessness with a multiverse containing both known and unknown worlds. Earth and its universe pivoted on Mount Sumeru, an axis mountain of fabulous proportions in the Tibetan Himalayas or Central Asia. Water, mountains, and continents grew from this mountain axis. The continents are arranged symmetrically like the petals of a lotus blossom, or as concentric circles of alternating seas and continents. The inhabited earth, called ‘Jambudvīpa’, is at the centre of this scheme of things, or otherwise constituted the southern ‘petal’, containing the ‘Bhāratavarṣa’, the traditional territorial reach of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain cultures.

Until the arrival of Islam, cosmology in Southeast Asia was highly influenced by cosmological considerations that ultimately came from India. These external influences, which were themselves the result of a co-mingling of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain beliefs, conceived the earth as a small part of the vast cosmos, in stark contrast to the Creation in Christian and Islamic doctrine. The desire to understand the cosmos was a natural concern since it was simply an extension of knowledge about one’s own immediate environment. The nature of the cosmos became even more significant when Buddhism took hold in Southeast Asia, and ‘other worldliness’ began to play an increasingly important part in formalised cultural practices.

The tradition of Jain cosmological maps dates to the thirteenth century. Jainism, one of the most ancient Asian religious cultures, holds that three realms exist: an upper or celestial world, the middle or mortal world, and the lower, infernal world. Abstract representations of these concepts exist on paper, parchment, linen, or stone and were displayed in temples, pilgrimage sites, or carried by holy men. They were typically produced in the northwest Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

An extremely detailed and richly coloured representation of Aḍhāī-dvīpa, the cosmological map of the universe according to the Jain religion. This work has some unusual features, including an extra ring between the central continent, Jambudvīpa, and the surrounding salt ocean, Lavaṇoda, and a great many inscriptions within the area of the ‘two and a half’ continents, which are more usually found around its circumference.

A Map of Jain Cosmography