Executive Briefing: An Uncreated Eternal Universe
Jain cosmology rejects a creator god: the universe (Loka) is uncreated and eternal, shaped like a human standing with legs apart and hands on hips, moving through endless ascending and descending cycles of time.
1. Utsarpini and Avasarpini
Time turns like a cosmic wheel: descending from perfection to corruption (*Avasarpini*), then ascending from darkness to light (*Utsarpini*), governed by strict natural law.
2. References
- Cort, J. E. (2001). Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in India. Oxford University Press.