A Jain textile painting (pata) depicting the Lokapurusha, or "Cosmic Man". The figure embodies the Jain conception of the universe, both physical and spiritual, mapped upon an anthropomorphic form. The figure is divided into sections filled with deities, heavenly beings, sacred diagrams, and cosmological realms.

The Jain Universe was divided into three worlds: the Upper World (ūrdhvaloka), the Middle World (madhya-loka), and the Lower World (adho-loka). The Upper World, represented here by the head and the borders of the map, consists of the heavens and is inhabited by deities. These deities are depicted on the map alongside recognisable icons or symbols, such as peacocks, elephants, and lotus flowers. The Lower World, represented by the column of central images of humans being tortured, is formed of a pyramid of seven levels of hell, each one more painful than the last. At the centre of the map is the Middle World, the only realm where humans were able to live. This is depicted by the the traditional circular map of the Aḍhāī-dvīpa, or the 'World of Humans'. This is the most important realm in Jain cosmology as only by living well as a human could a soul advance towards liberation.

The 'Two and A Half Continents' is composed of concentric rings of land and water. The central continent is Jambū-dvīpa, the location of Mt Meru, the holy centre of the Jain universe. Mt. Meru is depicted as a yellow circle at the very centre of the map. Jambū-dvīpa is divided by six mountain ranges into seven distinct regions. These mountains are pictured on the map as multi-coloured, horizontal bars running across the circular landmass. The central region of Jambū-dvīpa, flanked in the north by a green range of mountains and in the south by a red range of mountains, is known as Mahā-videha. It is believed to be a land of wonders inhabited by Universal Monarchs and only the greatest Jain scholars. The central continent of Jambū-dvīpa is ringed by the Lavaṇa-samudra, or 'Salt Ocean', which is inhabited by fish and other sea creatures.

Beyond the Salt Ocean is the second continent, Dhātakīkhaṇḍa. Wide green and red mountain ranges divide both this second continent and the third continent (Puṣkara-dvīpa) into eastern and western sections. Other Jain cosmological maps depict cities, palaces, and the rulers of kingdoms in these regions, but the relatively small size of this painting compared to other Jain cosmological maps we have seen has restricted how much detail the painter could achieve. The yellow, white, green, and red bars which run perpendicular to the ocean rings are mountain ranges and between these mountains are many rivers (blue curves).

The second blue ring is Kālodadhi, or the 'Black-water Ocean'. This ocean is once again filled with fish and other sea creatures. Beyond Kālodadhi is the third continent, Puṣkara-dvīpa ('Lotus Island'), only half of which is reachable from the world of humans. This third continent is largely a copy of the second continent with the same mountains and rivers. Around the edge of Puṣkara-dvīpa, dividing it in half between the habitable and uninhabitable realms, is a mountain range, Mānuṣottara, depicted as an yellow ring. As humans cannot live beyond Mānuṣottara, this marks the edge of the map of the 'World of Humans'.

The surrounding text in Devanagari explains the map and the Jain cosmology.

Hand painted on linen with gold highlights. [WLD4915]