According to the Bhāgavatam, the seven lower planetary systems have the same width and breadth as Bhū-maṇḍala, and they lie beneath Bhū-maṇḍala in successive strata separated by intervals of 80,000 miles (SB 5.24.7). Since the diameter of Bhū-maṇḍala is four billion miles, it follows that the complete system consisting of Bhū-maṇḍala and the seven lower worlds can be visualized as a relatively thin disc, comparable to a stack of eight circular sheets of paper. As with Bhū-maṇḍala, this means that the major part of the seven lower worlds lies many millions of miles away from us in what we regard as outer space. Also, the geometric projection of these lower worlds on the celestial sphere is nearly the same as the projection of Bhū-maṇḍala.
Traditionally, people in cultures throughout the world have spoken of subterranean realms, and the lower planetary systems described in Vedic literature also have a subterranean aspect. Thus the Bhāgavatam points out that the rays of the sun cannot reach the bila-svarga (SB 5.24.11), and in the Mahābhārata there are accounts of people traveling to these regions by entering tunnels leading down into the earth. Also, the astronomical siddhāntas place the lower worlds in the “concave strata of the earth.”
The Bhāgavatam’s description of the dimensions of the lower worlds indeed suggests that these worlds constitute a subterranean stratum of Bhū-maṇḍala as a whole. According to this idea, this lower region does lie below our feet, and due to the vast extent of Bhū-maṇḍala, it also lies in outer space. Both of these locations, however, are simply three-dimensional projections (or aspects) of the actual, higher-dimensional position of the lower planetary systems. We could not reach Nāgaloka, for example, by tunneling into the earth using ordinary three-dimensional methods. But we could do so if our tunneling was accompanied by movement along a higher dimension.
Some 240,000 miles below the lowest of the seven lower worlds, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu lies on Ananta-śeṣa on the surface of the Garbhodaka Ocean (SB 5.25.1). As we have already noted, even Lord Brahmā was unable to see Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu when he tried to trace out the origin of the lotus from which he himself had taken birth. It is therefore to be expected that this scene must lie beyond the range of ordinary human sense perception.
However, since the Garbhodaka Ocean is almost directly beneath the plane of Bhū-maṇḍala, one can imagine that all points on the celestial sphere south of the projection of Bhū-maṇḍala should correspond to this ocean. This amounts to a simple, three-dimensional visualization of an essentially higher-dimensional situation. Our thesis in this book is that in the Vedic civilization, the relationship between higher-dimensional realms and the visible firmament was visualized in this way. (In Section 3.b.3 we have noted the existence of ancient traditions that are consistent with this idea.)
According to the Bhāgavatam, as we move up from the earth’s surface, we ultimately reach a point where clouds and wind are no longer found. This is the beginning of antarikṣa, or outer space. At an altitude of 800 miles above the base of antarikṣa are the abodes of the Rākṣasas, Yakṣas, and Piśācas, and at a still higher altitude are the realms of the Siddhas, Cāraṇas, and Vidyādharas (SB 5.24.4-6). For comparison, the highest clouds are about 50 miles up according to modern observations, and the American and Russian manned orbital flights range in altitude from about 100 to 900 miles above the earth (MSF, pp. 534-36). The various types of beings mentioned in these verses are known in Vedic literature for their great mystic powers, and they clearly operate on a level that is inaccessible to ordinary human senses. The Rākṣasas, of course, are particularly known for their inimical nature and their ability to create various kinds of illusions.
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