Cosmic Diagram, 18th century. Western India (Gujarat or Rajasthan). Opaque watercolors on cotton; sheet, 35 1/2 x 36 in. (90.2 x 91.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum; Brooklyn Museum Collection, X899.1
This image maps the cosmos as conceived by Jainism, an ancient Indian religion. In the Jain tradition, reaching Enlightenment requires a spiritual journey across levels of understanding. The levels are shown here as concentric rings separated by oceans. The world we know appears in the outer rings and in the corners, populated by people in small pavilions and crisscrossed by rivers. At the center is Jambhudvipa, the mountainous continent of the gods.
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