According to Jains, the universe has a firm and an unalterable shape, which is measured in the Jain texts by means of a unit called Rajlok, which is supposed to be very large. This unit of measurement is the distance covered by a god flying at ten million miles per second for six months.[6] Jainism postulates that the universe is fourteen Rajloks high and extends seven Rajloks from north to south. Its breadth is seven Rajloks long at the bottom and decreases gradually towards the middle, where it is one Rajlok long. The width then increases gradually until it is five Rajloks long and again decreases until it is one Rajlok long. The apex of the universe is one Rajlok long, one Rajlok wide and eight Rajloks high. The total space of the world is thus 343 cubic Rajloks. The Svetambara view differs slightly and postulates that there is a constant increase and decrease in the breadth, and the space is 239 cubic Rajlok. Apart from the apex, which is the abode of liberated beings, the universe is divided into three parts. The world is surrounded by three atmospheres: dense-water, dense-wind and thin-wind. It is then surrounded by an infinitely large non-world which is completely empty.
The whole world is said to be filled with living beings. In all three parts, there is the existence of very small living beings called nigoda. Nigoda are of two types: nitya-nigoda and Itara-nigoda. Nitya-nigoda are those which will reincarnate as nigoda throughout eternity, where as Itara-nigoda will be reborn as other beings. The mobile region of universe (Trasnaadi) is one Rajlok wide, one Rajlok broad and fourteen Rajloks high. Within this region, there are animals and plants everywhere, where as human beings are restricted to 2 continents of the middle world. The beings inhabiting the lower world are called Narak (Hellish beings). The Deva (roughly demi-gods) live in the whole of the top and middle worlds, and top three realms of the lower world. Living beings are divided in fourteen classes (Jivasthana) : Fine beings with one sense, crude beings with one sense, beings with two senses, beings with three senses, beings with four senses, beings with five senses and no mind, and beings with five senses and a mind. These can be under-developed or developed, a total of 14. Human beings can get any form of existence, but can only attain salvation in a human form.
Nandīśvaradvīpa (also known as Nandīśvara Dvipa or Nandishvara Island) is the 15th continent in the middle-world (madhyaloka) of Jain cosmology, encircled by the Nandīśvaroda ocean. It is distinctively known as the "continent of rejoicing" because it is a land of delight where gods gather to celebrate eight-day festivals and perform worship at fifty-two eternal temples (śāśvatajinālaya).
These temples, which have existed since time immemorial, house 5,616 Jina idols arranged in highly geometric formations. The landscape is characterized by gardens, lotus-filled lakes, and four central black stone mountains (Devaramaṇa, Nityodyata, Svayamprabha, and Ramaṇīya) situated in the four directions. Because this realm is beyond human reach, human devotees worship symbolic representations of these 52 temples, often carved as a single Nandīśvara idol with 13 figures on each side, particularly during the months of Ashada, Karthika, and Phalguna.