The General Structure of the Universe

The general structure of the universe, the "cosmic egg" (brahmanda) in the Puranas is given below. The ancient philosophers of the body split up the microcosm into a number of regions known as "lokas." There are a total of fourteen lokas but the important ones are depicted in the following illustration:

Considering this structure of the universe, the statements of the Puranas would not appear to be so hyperbolic! Mt. Meru, for instance, does indeed reach up to heaven. The earth is indeed perched on a serpent!