This world is a gross world. The world that we see around us, the world that we live in, is made of the five gross elements - ether, air,fire,water, and earth - as well as the relative products of these elements. However, it would be very naïve of us to restrict the outer world to only what we can see, hear, taste, touch, and smell.
Why? Because creation, shṛiṣhṭi, consists of innumerable brahmāṇḍ, world regions or cosmic eggs. Each one of these cosmic eggs (world regions) is governed by Brahmā (the creator), Vishnu (the sustainer), and Shankar (Śhiva). In this way, there are innumerable Brahmās, Vishnus, and Shankars in existence as well.
The Earth is only a minute fraction of one of these innumerable cosmic eggs. And what is the size of a single cosmic egg? The Vedas tells us that one cosmic egg is composed of five maṇḍalas (cosmic regions), seven lokas (planes of existence), and three trilokīs (groups of three worlds).
According to the Vedas, the earth we are living on is one of the maṇḍalas known as bhūmaṇḍal (the earthly cosmic region). Within this bhūmaṇḍal exists bhūrlok (the earthly plane), which is itself a world within the bigger world. This bhūmaṇḍal derives its stability from the attraction force of another maṇḍal known as sūryamaṇḍal (the solar region). Sūrya means sun. Within the sūryamaṇḍal contains within it a lok, suhamandal or swarglok (the heavenly plane).
Between the bhūmaṇḍal and the sūryamaṇḍal lies another maṇḍal known as chandramaṇḍal (the lunar region), which contains bhuvaḥlok (the intermediate plane). Thus, the three lokas -bhūr, bhuvaḥ, and swaḥ - together form a trilokī (three-world system).
This group of three lokas is referred to in the Vedas as rodasī (the cosmic sphere), and it includes bhūmaṇḍal, chandramaṇḍal, and sūryamaṇḍal.
The sūryamaṇḍal derives stability from the attraction force of another maṇḍal known as parameṣhṭhīmaṇḍal (the higher cosmic region), which contains janalok (the plane of sages). Between janalok and swarglok exists another lok called mahahlok (the celestial plane of great beings).
So the second set of three lokas, swaḥ, mahāh, and janaḥ, constitute the second trilok which extends up to parameṣhṭhīmaṇḍal.
Parameṣhṭhīmaṇḍal derives its stability from the attraction force of another mandal called swayambhūmaṇḍal (the self-manifest cosmic region), which contains within it another lok known as satyalok (the plane of truth, abode of Brahmā). Between satyalok and janalok lies tapolok (the plane of austerity).
Thus, the three lokas - janaḥ, japaḥ, and satyaḥ - constitute the third trilok. In this way, one single cosmic egg contains five maṇḍalas, seven lokas and three trilokas,
or five madalas: bhūmaṇḍal, chandramaṇḍal, sūryamaṇḍal, parameṣhṭhīmaṇḍal, and swayambhūmaṇḍal, and
seven lokas: bhūh, bhuvaḥ, swaḥ mahā, janaḥ tapaḥ satyaḥ, and
three trilokas: bhūr, bhuvaḥ, swaḥ,
This is just to give you an idea of the vast size. This is a vast expanse, uninterrupted surface of a single cosmic egg. And in this way, there are innumerable cosmic eggs in existence.
