Diagrams of the Universe: The Two-and-a-Half Continents, the Universe in the Shape of a Person, and the Seven Levels of Hell

1613

Diagrams of the Universe: The Two-and-a-Half Continents, the Universe in the Shape of a Person, and the Seven Levels of Hell, 1613. Western India, Gujarat. Gum tempera, ink, and gold on cloth; 83.8 x 155 cm (33 x 61 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.201 According to Jain cosmology, the universe is envisioned in the shape of a man. Above the waist are seven levels of heavens; below the waist are seven levels of hell. His midsection is the earthly realm, here shown as a round diagram with mountains and rivers, expanded at the left. The hell scenes are elaborated at the right. The seven levels of hell depict various punishments as per Jain mythology.