View source for Svarga

== Description ==
Svarga is a set of celestial worlds located on and above [[Mt. Meru|Mount Meru]], where those who had led righteous lives by adhering to the scriptures delight in pleasures, before their next birth on earth. It is described to have been built by the deity [[Tvashtr|Tvashtar]], the Vedic architect of the devas.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Coulter |first1=Charles Russell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sEIngqiKOugC&dq=svarga+encyclopedia&pg=PA447 |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities |last2=Turner |first2=Patricia |date=2013-07-04 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-96390-3 |pages=447 |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Tiruchchirappalli painting Indra (cropped).jpg|thumb|253x253px|Painting of Indra, the ruler of Svarga, upon Airavata]]
The king of the [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]], [[Indra]], is the ruler of Svarga, ruling it with his consort, [[Indrani]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Buck |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YO0lEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA9 |title=Ramayana |date=2021-06-08 |publisher=Univ of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-38338-8 |page=9 |language=en}}</ref> His palace in the abode is called Vaijayanta.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bane |first=Theresa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0HLzAgAAQBAJ&dq=swarga+yojanas&pg=PA136 |title=Encyclopedia of Imaginary and Mythical Places |date=2014-03-04 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-7848-4 |pages=136 |language=en}}</ref> This palace holds the famous hall, Sudharma, unrivalled among all the princely courts. The capital of Svarga is [[Amaravati (mythology)|Amaravati]], and its entrance is guarded by the legendary elephant, [[Airavata]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fausbøll |first=V. |title=Indian mythology according to the Mahābhārata : in outline |date=1903 |publisher=Luzac |isbn=0-524-01055-2 |location=London |oclc=690682510}}</ref>{{rp|84}} Svarga is described to be the home of [[Kamadhenu]], the cow of plenty, as well as Parijata, the tree that grants all wishes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Klostermaier |first=Klaus K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DB29DwAAQBAJ&dq=svarga+encyclopedia&pg=PT91 |title=A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism |date=2014-10-01 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-78074-672-2 |pages=91 |language=en}}</ref> The legendary [[Kalpavriksha]] tree grows in the centre of the Nandana gardens, which was planted there by Indra after it emerged from the [[Samudra Manthana]], the churning of the ocean. Due to its location, Svarga is called Tridiva, the third highest heaven.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Benjamin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8J2RDwAAQBAJ&dq=svarga+hall+hinduism&pg=PT210 |title=Hindu World: An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism. In Two Volumes. Volume II M-Z |date=2019-04-09 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-62419-3 |pages=210 |language=en}}</ref> 

In [[Hindu mythology]], the devas' dominion over Svarga is often the primary point of contention in their eternal war with their rivals, the [[Asura|asuras]]. A common theme in these legends is an asura king, such as [[Hiranyakashipu]], usurping the realm for himself. The preserver deity, [[Vishnu]], often intervenes to restore the status quo. He sometimes assumes an [[avatar]], such as [[Narasimha]], to vanquish the asura king, restoring Indra and the devas to their place.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bonnefoy |first=Yves |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r4I-FsZCzJEC&dq=svarga+asuras&pg=PA52 |title=Asian Mythologies |date=1993-05-15 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-06456-7 |pages=52 |language=en}}</ref> During each [[pralaya]] (the great dissolution), the first three realms, [[Loka|Bhuloka]], Bhuvarloka, and Svargaloka are destroyed. In contemporary Hinduism, Svarga itself is often relegated to the status of a lower heaven, one that is spiritually as well as physically beneath [[Vaikuntha]] and [[Mount Kailash|Kailasha]], the celestial abodes of [[Vishnu]] and [[Shiva]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cush |first1=Denise |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kzPgCgAAQBAJ&dq=svarga+Hindu+heaven&pg=PA595 |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |last2=Robinson |first2=Catherine |last3=York |first3=Michael |date=2012-08-21 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-18979-2 |pages=595 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dutt |first=Romesh Chunder |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EqpFAAAAIAAJ&dq=svarga+vaikuntha&pg=PA295 |title=A History of Civilization in Ancient India: Based on Sanscrit Literature |date=1890 |publisher=Thacker, Spink and Company |pages=295 |language=en}}</ref>

In [[Buddhism]], Svarga (heaven) is one of the [[Buddhist cosmology|many worlds]] one may reincarnate if [[Nirvana]] is not achieved. Sometimes dismissed as a diversion from the path to Nirvana, some Buddhists aim for a rebirth in heaven as better circumstances to prepare for final salvation.<ref>Jenkins, S. (2022). BUDDHIST SOTERIOLOGY. The Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Practice, 384. p. 385</ref> In [[Theravada]], different stages of heaven are closely connected with [[Buddhist meditation|meditation theories]].<ref>Jenkins, S. (2022). BUDDHIST SOTERIOLOGY. The Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Practice, 384. p. 385</ref> According to Buddhism, heaven is not eternal. However, this does not imply that the [[Deva (Buddhism)|inhabitants of heaven]] (deva) necessarily return to earth after their heavenly karma runs out. The fate of devas depends on their merits accumulated during their abode in heaven: Non-Buddhist devas may fall back to earth, incarnate in [[Naraka|hell]] or as animals, whereas Buddhist devas may ascend to higher heavens until they finally achieve Nirvana.<ref>Jenkins, S. (2022). BUDDHIST SOTERIOLOGY. The Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Practice, 384. p. 385</ref> 

Besides the sensual heaven of the devas, Buddhism also acknowledges sublime heavens of the ''[[Brahmā (Buddhism)|brahmā]]s'', the realm of the [[Mahabrahma|Creator God]] (''Mahābrahmā''), and disembodied deities beyond.<ref>Jenkins, S. (2022). BUDDHIST SOTERIOLOGY. The Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Practice, 384. p. 385</ref> Incarnation in the form of the latter belongs to the "eight inopportune conditions", as they are so sublime, they are unable to hear the dharma and thus, also unable to attain liberation.<ref>Jenkins, S. (2022). BUDDHIST SOTERIOLOGY. The Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Practice, 384. p. 385</ref> As such, incarnation in heaven, though acknowledged and often aspired, is never meant to be an end in itself.<ref>Jenkins, S. (2022). BUDDHIST SOTERIOLOGY. The Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Practice, 384. p. 385</ref>