astronomy

Trailokya

Trailokya is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Trailokya rather than just read about it. In short: Trailokya (Sanskrit: त्रैलोक्य; Kannada: ತ್ರೈಲೋಕ್ಯ; Pali: tiloka, Tibetan: khams gsum; Chinese: 三界; Vietnamese: Tam Giới) literally means "three worlds". It can also refer to "three spheres," "three planes of existence," and "three realms".

Key takeaways

Trailokya belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Trailokya to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Trailokya from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Trailokya (Sanskrit: त्रैलोक्य; Kannada: ತ್ರೈಲೋಕ್ಯ; Pali: tiloka, Tibetan: khams gsum; Chinese: 三界; Vietnamese: Tam Giới) literally means "three worlds". It can also refer to "three spheres," "three planes of existence," and "three realms". Various schemas of three realms (tri-loka) appear in the main Indian religions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Hindu cosmology

The concept of three worlds has a number of different interpretations in Hindu cosmology.

Traditionally, the three worlds refer to either the earth (Bhuloka), heaven (Svarga), and hell (Naraka), or the earth (Bhuloka), heaven (Svarga), and the netherworld (Patala). The Brahmanda Purana conceives them to be Bhūta (past), Bhavya (future), and Bhavat (present). In Vaishnavism, the three worlds are often described to be bhūr, bhuvaḥ, and svaḥ (the gross region, the subtle region, and the celestial region). In the Nilanamatapurana, Vamana covers his second step on the three worlds of Maharloka, Janaloka, and Tapaloka, all of which are regarded to be a part of the seven heavens.

Buddhist cosmology

In Buddhism, the three worlds refer to the following destinations for karmic rebirth:

Kāma-loka (world of desire), is a plane of existence typified by base desires, populated by hell beings, preta (hungry ghosts), animals, humans, lower demi-gods (asuras) and gods (devas) of the desire realm heavens. Rūpa-loka (world of form), a realm predominantly free of baser desires, populated by higher level devas. It is a possible rebirth destination for those well practiced in dhyāna (meditative absorption). Arūpa-loka (the world of formlessness), a non-corporeal realm populated with four heavens. It is a possible rebirth destination for practitioners of the four formlessness stages of meditation (arūpa-samāpatti). According to Theravada Buddhism, these are all the realms of existence outside of nirvana, which transcends all three realms. According to Mahayana Buddhism however, the buddhafields (also known as pure lands) are lands which are beyond the three realms.

Jain cosmology The early Jains contemplated the nature of the earth and universe and developed a detailed hypothesis on the various aspects of astronomy and cosmology. According to the Jain texts, the universe is divided into 3 parts:

Urdhva Loka – the realms of the gods or heavens Madhya Loka – the realms of the humans, animals and plants Adho Loka – the realms of the hellish beings or the infernal regions

See also

Loka Six Paths Svarga Trikaya Sahā

Notes

Sources Berzin, Alexander (6 March 2008). Berzin Archives Glossary. Retrieved Sunday 13 July 2008 from "Berzin Archives" at http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/about/glossary/glossary_tibetan.html. Fischer-Schreiber, Ingrid, Franz-Karl Ehrhard, Michael S. Diener and Michael H. Kohn (trans.) (1991). The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen. Boston: Shambhala Publications. ISBN 0-87773-520-4. Monier-Williams, Monier (1899, 1964). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-864308-X. Retrieved 2008-07-13 from "Cologne University" at http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/index.php?sfx=pdf. Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary. Chipstead: Pali Text Society. Retrieved 2008-07-13 from "U. Chicago" at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/. W. E. Soothill & L. Hodous (1937-2000). A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 81-208-0319-1. Grimes, John A. (1996), A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English, SUNY Press, ISBN 9780791430675, retrieved 10 September 2017 Titze, Kurt; Bruhn, Klaus (1998), Jainism: A Pictorial Guide to the Religion of Non-violence, Motilal Banarsidass Publication, ISBN 9788120815346, retrieved 10 September 2017 Wiley, Kristi L. (2009), The A to Z of Jainism, Scarecrow Press, ISBN 9780810868212, retrieved 10 September 2017 Raval, Mukundchandra G. (2016), Meru: The Center of our Earth, Notion Press, ISBN 9781945400100, retrieved 10 September 2017

External links Bullitt, John T. (2005). The Thirty-one Planes of Existence. Retrieved 2007-04-30 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sagga/loka.html.

Illustrations

Sculpture of Vamana, an avatar of Vishnu, who is associated with the legend of taking three strides upon the three worlds

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Trailokya

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Trailokya claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Trailokya before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Trailokya ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Trailokya

In research: Trailokya appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Trailokya in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Trailokya is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Buddhist cosmology, Buddhist philosophical concepts, Places in Hindu mythology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Trailokya outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Trailokya in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Trailokya means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Trailokya out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Trailokya in simple terms?

Why does Trailokya matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Trailokya?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Trailokya.