Word

Loka

Sanskrit

लोक

IAST

loka

In General

World or realm; sphere, level, or plane of existence, whether physical, astral, or causal. The physical world or universe where we live and experience things

There are seven lokas: Bhuh loka : The material plane of atomic matter. Bhuvarloka: The lesser astral world (mid world patala), similar to the material plane. Swarga loka: The median astral world.

Mahah loka: The higher astral world. Those who attain this world need never be reborn in the three lower worlds of Bhuh , Bhuvah, and Swah.

Janaloka: The world that embraces both the highest astral levels and the lower causal levels. Tapoloka: The median causal world exclusively inhabited by advanced spirits who perpetually engage in meditation–tapasya. Satyaloka: The highest causal world inhabited by those who have attained liberation ( moksha ).

Veda

In Vedantic thought, a “world” does not mean a physical place; the word loka is used in a very different way. It means a particular state or condition of consciousness. The worlds mentioned in the Upanishads are different levels of the soul’s experience, not different physical regions in the universe. What we call the material universe is simply how existence appears to us when the soul lives at the physical level, where spirit is involved in matter and form. At this level, everything is seen as divided into separate objects, because matter works through division and combination. This way of seeing becomes the soul’s “world.”

As the soul rises to higher states of consciousness, its way of seeing reality also changes. Each state of the soul has its own view of the world, and within that view the soul lives and experiences existence. These different views are what the ancient tradition calls different “worlds.”

The Upanishads do not reject life or the world. They teach that the world is a manifestation of the Eternal Reality, Brahman. Everything here is Brahman; all things exist in the Spirit, and the Spirit exists in all things. The one self-existent Spirit has become all beings and objects. Only Brahman exists, and the life-force (Vayu) is a direct and visible expression of the Eternal Brahman.

However, the Upanishads say that the ordinary human way of living is not the highest possible state. Our external mind and physical life are not the whole of who we are. To become complete and perfect, a person must grow beyond physical and mental ignorance and attain spiritual self-knowledge.

Purana

As per puranas there are 14 worlds. 7 above as said in Vedas and 7 below;.

In Puranic cosmology, the seven lower worlds are realms beneath the human world Earth. They are not Hell as said in other religions. They are known as Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala, and Patala. They are inhabited by powerful beings like Asuras Nagas and other divine/semi-divine entities, often depicted as opulent but materialistic, illuminated by glowing jewels, and representing different planes of existence or states of consciousness focused on sense gratification.