Hindu cosmology

Hindu cosmology
Name	Hindu cosmology
Native name	सनातन विश्वदर्शन
Caption	Conceptual depiction of Mount Meru and the concentric worlds
Region	Indian subcontinent
Texts	Vedas; Mahabharata; Ramayana; Bhagavata Purana; Vishnu Purana
Traditions	Vaishnavism; Shaivism; Shaktism; Advaita Vedanta
Period	Vedic period to Classical period

Hindu cosmology presents a multi-layered, cyclical model of time and space central to Vedic period religious literature and later Puranas. It integrates mythic narratives, astronomical observation, and metaphysical systems developed in texts such as the Rigveda, Upanishads, Mahabharata, and Bhagavata Purana, and it influenced cultural institutions, temple architecture, and calendrical practice across the Indian subcontinent.

Overview

Hindu cosmology synthesizes narratives found in the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda, and post‑Vedic scriptures such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana with cosmographical schemes in the Puranas and commentaries by philosophers like Adi Shankara and Ramanuja. It posits a universe governed by cyclical creation and dissolution overseen by deities including Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, and it situates ethical rebirth and liberation within cosmological timeframes referenced by ritual authorities such as the Brahmanas and legal compendia like the Manusmriti.

Cycles of Time (Yugas and Kalpas)

The cosmology articulates nested time cycles: the four age sequence of Satya Yuga (Krita), Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga, which together form a Mahayuga; a thousand mahayugas constitute a Kalpa, the daytime of Brahma. Texts like the Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, and works attributed to Vyasa provide numerical schemes linking yuga durations to moral decline and prophetic events such as the avatars of Vishnu (e.g., Krishna). Commentators in the Nyaya and Mimamsa traditions debated these periods while medieval scholars such as Varahamihira and Brahmagupta incorporated them into astronomical chronologies used by courts of the Gupta Empire and later regional polities like the Chola dynasty.

Structure of the Universe (Lokas, Bhuvanas, Mount Meru)

The cosmos is stratified into multiple lokas (planes) and bhuvanas (worlds): seven higher lokas including Brahmaloka and Svarga, and seven lower lokas such as Patala. Central to spatial cosmology is Mount Meru, surrounded by concentric oceans, continents (dvipas) like Jambudvipa, and mythic features described in the Vishnu Purana and Brahmanda Purana. Temple builders drawing on texts such as the Shilpa Shastra and royal patrons from dynasties including the Pallava and Chola encoded Meru‑oriented cosmography in sanctum layouts and chola bronze iconography of deities like Nataraja.

Cosmological Creation Narratives and Texts (Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads)

Creation accounts vary across sources: the cosmogonic hymns of the Rigveda (e.g., the Nasadiya Sukta) offer speculative origins; the Chandogya Upanishad and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad present metaphysical emanation; and Puranic cycles in the Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Markandeya Purana, and Matsya Purana narrate successive creations linked to divine play (lila) by Vishnu or creative activity by Brahma. Mythic episodes—such as the churning of the ocean (Samudra Manthana) involving deities like Indra, Varuna, and sages like Maitreya—are recorded in the Mahabharata and used by theological schools including Dvaita Vedanta and Vishishtadvaita to articulate metaphysics and soteriology.

Celestial Bodies, Timekeeping, and Astronomy in Hindu Thought

Ancient Indian astronomy (jyotisha) integrated cosmology with observational practice: treatises by Aryabhata, Varahamihira (e.g., Brihat Samhita), Brahmagupta and commentaries in the Siddhantas linked planetary motions, nakshatras (lunar mansions), and solar‑lunar calendars to ritual timing in texts like the Surya Siddhanta. Celestial entities—Surya (Sun), Chandra (Moon), the nine grahas including Rahu and Ketu—feature in calendrical reckoning, eclipse theory, and astrological systems patronized by courts such as those of the Mughal Empire and regional kingdoms. Observatories like the one established by Jai Singh II at Jaipur reflect the continued blending of Puranic cosmology with empirical astronomy.

Cosmology in Ritual, Philosophy, and Art

Cosmological motifs inform temple rites, iconography, and philosophical discourse: priestly manuals (śrauta saṃhitas) prescribe homa rituals aligned with yuga and planetary cycles; Tantric texts of Shaktism and ritual manuals of Shaivism visualize chakras and cosmic mantras; and schools such as Advaita Vedanta reinterpret cosmological plurality as māyā in commentaries on the Upanishads. Artistic expressions—from the murals of Ajanta Caves and the sculpture of Ellora Caves to the mandalas used in contemporary Kathak and Odissi choreography—encode Mount Meru, the lokas, and avatar narratives, while royal patronage by dynasties like the Gupta Empire, Chalukya, and Pallava circulated cosmological iconography across South and Southeast Asia.

Category:Cosmology