This Jain cosmological diagram on cloth is also known as Adhai dvipa pata. It depicts the Jain concept of the universe and the Manushyaloka, world of humans. The diagram comprises a series of rings of concentric circles alternately representing land and water. The blue rings with fish and wavy lines are the oceans while the buff colour zones with rivers, cities and tanks are marked with schematic patterns. These diagrams usually depict the inner most two and a half islands of the human world. The sacred geography is described here using simple symbols giving visual form to Jain cosmological concepts.
