The Bhagavati Sutra portrays the universe (loka) as an eternal, uncreated, yet finite cosmic structure, set within an infinite expanse of non-universe (aloka). This cosmos is not governed by a creator deity but ordered by the intrinsic nature of substances and the operation of karma. Its overall form is described as vertically extended and tiered, often likened to a cosmic person or an hourglass, broader at the top and bottom and narrower in the middle. Within this fixed spatial framework, time unfolds in endless cycles, while the basic architecture of the universe remains constant as beings transmigrate according to their karmic conditions.

This universe is articulated in three great vertical regions: the lower world (Adho Loka), the middle world (Madhya Loka), and the upper world (Urdhva Loka). The lower world consists of seven descending hells, realms of darkness and intense suffering inhabited by infernal beings whose torments arise from their own karma rather than divine punishment. Conditions become progressively harsher in the deeper levels, reflecting a graded correspondence between moral degradation and existential distress. These regions are integral to the moral topography of the cosmos, illustrating how the same universal law of karma manifests as differing modes of experience.

The middle world occupies the narrow central zone of the cosmic structure and is the unique arena where human birth and the pursuit of liberation are possible. It is described as a system of concentric continents and oceans, with Jambudvipa at the center and Mount Meru rising at its heart. Here dwell humans, animals, plants, and certain classes of celestial and sub-human beings, all bound into the web of transmigration. The Bhagavati Sutra emphasizes that this middle realm, though limited in extent, holds a privileged spiritual status, since it alone provides the conditions necessary for conscious ethical effort and the attainment of release.

Above the middle world rises the upper world, composed of multiple heavenly regions inhabited by various classes of devas. These celestial realms are arranged in ascending degrees of subtlety, happiness, and spiritual refinement, with higher levels occupied by beings of greater purity and longer lifespans. At the summit of this vertical ascent lies the Siddha-loka or Siddha-śilā, the topmost point of the universe, which serves as the abode of liberated souls. There, freed from birth, death, and karmic bondage, perfected beings abide permanently, completing the universe’s graded hierarchy from the deepest hells to the highest state of spiritual consummation.

Underlying this entire structure is a subtle metaphysical framework of fundamental substances (dravyas) that pervade the loka. Souls (jīvas) are infinite in number and traverse all three realms according to their karmic states, while matter (pudgala) ranges from gross bodies to extremely fine particles. The media of motion and rest (dharma-dravya and adharma-dravya) operate only within the bounds of the loka, enabling movement and stillness, and space (ākāśa-dravya) is distinguished as the cosmic region that contains all other substances, contrasted with the empty aloka beyond. Time, conceived in vast cycles, allows for change and sequence, so that within an unchanging spatial form, the destinies of beings rise and fall ceaselessly across the three-tiered universe.