Tattvartha Sutra: 04.17-20

04.17 Vaimānikāh

04.18 Kalpopapannāh Kalpāteetāshcha

04.19 Uparyupari

04.20 Saudharmaishānsānatkumārmāhendrabrah-maloklāntakmahāshukrasahasrāreshwānatprānatayorār-anāchyutayornavasugraiveyakeshu Vijayvaijayantajayantā­parājiteshu Sarvārthasiddhe Cha

04.17-20

English:

Certain Vaimānik beings belong to Kalpa group and the rest to Kalpāteet. Their realms are situated one over another. Kalpa group consists of Saudharma, Aishān, Sānat, Māhendra, Brahmalok, Lāntak, Mahāshukra, Sahasrār, Ānat, Prānat, Aran and Achyut; Kalpāteet consists of nine Craiveyaks and of Vijay, Vaijayant, Jayant, Aparājit and Sarvārīhasiddhi..

These sutras deal with the Vaimanik group, which denotes the realms of planes. They lie above one another over the middle world. As such, they really constitute the upper realm termed as Urdhvalok. This group thus pertains to the heavenly realms in the sense the ordinary people understand that term.

Shwetāmbars and Digambars have different concepts about the number of realms for the Kalpa group. The former believe in 12 realms known as Saudharma, Aishān, Sānat, Māhendra, Brahmalok, Lāntak, Mahāshukra, Sahasrār, Anat, Prānat, Aran and Achyut. The latter believe in 16 realms and term the additional ones as Brahmottar, Kapishtha, Shukra and Shatār. The realms in this group do not necessarily rest vertically one over another; some of them are parallel to one another. For instance, Saudharma and Aishān lie on the same horizontal plane facing each other.

Above the Kalpa group there are nine realms of Graiveyak group. The term is derived from Greevā meaning neck, because they lie at the neck level of the universe (refer to figure 1). Above the Graiveyak level there are five realms of Anuttar group named as Vijay, Vaijayant, Jayant, Aparājit and Sarvārthasiddhi. These two groups are called Kalpāīeet