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Here in the Bhagavatam it is quoted that

In that planet of Satyaloka, there is neither bereavement, nor old age nor death.
http://www.vedabase.com/sb/2/2/27/

But here in the Bhagavad-Gita, it is clearly mentioned that, there is birth and death from lowest to highest material planets (including Satyaloka which is the highest)

http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Gita/verse-08-16.html

So which one is right?

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  • You may be interested in my question here, about Ramanujacharya's beliefs concerning whether inhabitants of Brahmaloka attain Moksha when they die: http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/8653/36 – Keshav Srinivasan Sep 19 '15 at 14:57

2 Answers2

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There is death in Satyaloka. Let's examine the verse in context:

The duration of life in Satyaloka is calculated to be 15,480,000,000,000 years. In ... Satyaloka, there is neither bereavement, nor old age nor death.

So in Satyaloka, the world of Brahma, life is not eternal. It is just that while Satyaloka itself exists, there is no death there. But eventually Satyaloka itself is destroyed, and that's when its inhabitants finally die.

Let me explain the figure "15,480,000,000,000 years", by the way. As I discuss in this answer, the four Yugas make up one Mahayuga, and 1000 Mahayugas make up a Kalpa. Now a Kalpa is one day for Brahma, who goes to sleep at the end of the Kalpa after which a Pralaya or period of destruction ensues. And then Brahma wakes up and creates the world anew. Now if a Kalpa is one day for Brahma, just imagine how long a hundred years for Brahma is! That is called a Mahakalpa. At the end of a Mahakalpa, Brahma dies, and then there is a period of even greater destruction called a Mahapralaya. And then a new Brahma is born from Vishnu and the process starts all over again.

Now when Brahma dies, so do the inhabitants of Satyaloka who were worshipping him, and Brahma and those inhabitants all attain Moksha together, as described in a later chapter of the Srimad Bhagavatam:

Worshipers of the Hiraṇyagarbha expansion of the Personality of Godhead remain within this material world until the end of two parārdhas, when Lord Brahmā also dies. After experiencing the inhabitable time of the three modes of material nature, known as two parārdhas, Lord Brahmā closes the material universe, which is covered by layers of earth, water, air, fire, ether, mind, ego, etc., and goes back to Godhead. The yogīs who become detached from the material world by practice of breathing exercises and control of the mind reach the planet of Brahmā, which is far, far away. After giving up their bodies, they enter into the body of Lord Brahmā, and therefore when Brahmā is liberated and goes to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the Supreme Brahman, such yogīs can also enter into the kingdom of God.

So that's the meaning of the duration of life given in that verse.

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  • Thanks for the explanation.
    Do you have any sources about life duration in tapa and jana loka?     – tekkk Jun 21 '15 at 16:07
  • @sysinit There isn't a fixed duration. In Janaloka and Tapoloka you dwell there until the merit of your good deeds get exhausted and then you get reborn. You can only be in Maharloka for a Kalpa, and you can be in Satyaloka for an entire Mahakalpa, but in the intermediate realms of Janaloka and Tapoloka it varies. – Keshav Srinivasan Jun 21 '15 at 16:49
  • Thanks.I know people who has done good deeds go to svarga.But never understood , who will go to jana,tapa,mahar loka – tekkk Jun 21 '15 at 17:01
  • @sysinit Well, it's just a question of how good your deeds are. Like the Mahabharata chapter quoted in my answer here gives an example of something that would get you into Svargaloka: "He who lives for a hundred years, who is endued with heroism, who studies the Vedas, and who performs sacrifices with devotion." But it also lists various activities that can get you into even higher Lokas, for instance the Rajasuya Yagna will get you into the world of the Prajapatis, i.e. Maharloka. – Keshav Srinivasan Jun 21 '15 at 17:20
  • Thanks again. What happens after the fruits of their action expire in lokas higher than svarga?. Is it possible to upward movement without coming back on earth? – tekkk Jun 21 '15 at 18:37
  • I have read somewhere that , in svarga , one is not allowed to do fresh karma , as it is the place to experience fruits of action. But then why jivas in tapa loka , continue to perform austerities ? – tekkk Jun 21 '15 at 18:42
  • @sysinit No, the beings of Maharloka can go to Tapoloka at the end of the Kalpa, but apart from that there's no other upward movement. Sooner or later, you have to come back down from those Lokas and be reborn. As the Bhagavad Gita says, "When they have thus enjoyed vast heavenly sense pleasure and the results of their pious activities are exhausted, they return to this mortal planet again. Thus those who seek sense enjoyment by adhering to the principles of the three Vedas achieve only repeated birth and death." – Keshav Srinivasan Jun 21 '15 at 19:38
  • @sysinit And it's certainly possible to do things like Tapasya and worship while in higher Lokas, it's just that it doesn't count towards your Karma, so you'd be doing it out of love rather than for a reward. But I'm not sure whether Tapoloka is full of people performing Tapasya. I think Tapoloka gets its name from the fact that it's the reward for people who have performed great Tapasya on Earth. – Keshav Srinivasan Jun 21 '15 at 19:46
  • Could you please give me reference for upward movement of mahar to tapoloka at the end of kalpa? – tekkk Jun 21 '15 at 20:02
  • 4 kumaras are said to be living in tapoloka. These mind born sons of brahma dont live in satya loka. I believe these beings would be fit for liberation – tekkk Jun 21 '15 at 20:04
  • @sysinit Sorry, I meant from Maharloka to Janaloka, and it's described in the Srimad Bhagavatam chapter quoted in my answer here: http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/2876/36 "The devastation takes place due to the fire emanating from the mouth of [Ananta], and thus great sages like Bhṛgu and other inhabitants of Maharloka transport themselves to Janaloka, being distressed by the warmth of the blazing fire which rages through the three worlds below." – Keshav Srinivasan Jun 21 '15 at 20:05
  • @sysinit Well, the Sanat Kumaras are an unusual case, because they're incarnations of Vishnu. So it's not like they have a need for Moksha. – Keshav Srinivasan Jun 21 '15 at 20:31
  • Devastation might be special case, where residents of lower world move to higher world to escape from fire. It is just like devas regularly visit brahmaloka , but that doesn’t make them resident of brahmaloka.

    I was talking about actual elevation to higher loka as long term residents

     – tekkk Jun 21 '15 at 22:08
  • @sysinit Actually, they don't just return to Maharloka. At the end of the Kalpa, they go to Janaloka seeking refuge, and then at the end of the Pralaya, they die in Janaloka, and then they're reborn on Earth, as described in this excerpt from the Vayu Purana: http://gdurl.com/5q-G But no, there's nothing where you can permanently go from Maharloka, Janaloka, or Tapoloka to a higher loka. You have to go back down to Earth and earn it. – Keshav Srinivasan Jun 21 '15 at 22:20
  • In the link you have sent , they specifically say All those died in jana loka reborn in the same order as before.Also some people leave jana loka for Vairaja loka(Tapa loka?). – tekkk Jun 21 '15 at 22:50
  • Last paragraph(62-63) says Some people in jana loka can gain human form or devahood.

    That means , downfall may not be necessary to be on earth

     – tekkk Jun 21 '15 at 22:51
  • @sysinit That's not talking about a long-term inhabitant of Janaloka going to Tapaloka. It's referring to someone who has gone to Janaloka and back to Earth many times and then finally they go to Janaloka and then immediately go to Tapoloka. That's the general practice of going to a higher Loka: passing through all the lower Lokas. See the quotes from the Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads in my answer here: http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/6925/36 – Keshav Srinivasan Jun 21 '15 at 23:05
  • I don’t have access to original sanskrit text. But the link you sent says “Undergoing transmigration again and again up to 10 times in order those Devas Observe evanescence of all created beings.They desist from all activities and leave off Janaloka with calm mind and attain Vairaja loka." – tekkk Jun 21 '15 at 23:56
  • Here transmigration may not mean getting always earthly birth. They may also mean , someone might die in jana loka and reborn there or other lower lokas and come back there. – tekkk Jun 21 '15 at 23:56
  • @KeshavSrinivasan Will Brahma always born from Vishnu? – The Destroyer Dec 07 '15 at 10:13
  • @AnilKumar Yeah, this chapter of the Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata describes some previous Brahmas, and they were all born from different parts of Vishnu's body: http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c048.htm – Keshav Srinivasan Dec 07 '15 at 10:22
  • Do the years mentioned in Puranas and Ithihas like 432000 years for Kali Yuga, 4.32 billion human years for one Kalpa, are all literal or exaggeration? – Tat Tvam Asi May 07 '18 at 15:38
  • They are literal – tekkk May 07 '18 at 18:46
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There is no contradiction, you just need to understand it in the light of the following verse.

SB 5.16.25 yān upajuṣāṇānāṁ na kadācid api prajānāṁ valī-palita-klama-sveda-daurgandhya-jarāmaya-mṛtyu-śītoṣṇa vaivarṇyopasargādayas tāpa-viśeṣā bhavanti yāvaj jīvaṁ sukhaṁ niratiśayam

The residents of the material world who enjoy the products of these flowing rivers have no wrinkles on their bodies and no grey hair. They never feel fatigue, and perspiration does not give their bodies a bad odor. They are not afflicted by old age, disease or untimely death, they do not suffer from chilly cold or scorching heat, nor do their bodies lose their luster. They all live very happily, without anxieties, until death.

The verse above talks about residents of some planets in Jambudvipa. Since, it is known that everyone will die and last line says yavaj jivam. mrtyum should mean not death, but untimely death.

It is clearly known that at the time of destruction, even Satyaloka gets destroyed from the prior verse SB 2.2.26. Hence, in the verse http://www.vedabase.com/sb/2/2/27/ mrtyum can be understood to be untimely death. There is no death in Satyaloka can be understood as there is no untimely death. Thus, it doesn't contradict BG 8.16.