You might heard from priest in temples saying om, bhuu, bhuvas etc.. these are locas names they are saying.
In Sandhya vandanam also we say these higher locas names in the order.
Fourteen lokas
seven higher worlds (heavens) and
seven lower ones (underworlds).
(The earth is considered the lowest of the seven higher worlds.).
The higher worlds are the seven vyahrtis: bhuu, bhuvas, svar, mahas, janas, tapas, and satya above) and
seven lower ones (the “seven undreworlds” or paatalas: atala, vitala, sutala, rasaataala, talatala, mahaatala and paatala loka):
Seven Vyahrtis : Gods and mortals live in these worlds
1 Satya-loka: Brahma’s loka. Satya-loka planetary system is not eternal. Abode of Truth or of Brahma, where atman are released from the necessity of rebirth.
2 Tapa-loka: Abode of tapas or of other deities. Ayohnija devadas live here.
3 Jana-loka: Abode of the sons of God Brahma.
4 Mahar-loka: The abode of great sages and enlightened beings like Markendeya and other rishies.
5 Svar-loka: Region between the sun and polar star, the heaven of the god Indra. Indra, devatas, Rishies, Gandharvas and Apsaras live here: a heavenly paradise of pleasure, where all the 330 million Hindu gods (Deva) reside along with the king of gods, Indra.
6 Bhuvar-loka (aka Pitri Loka): Sun, planets, stars. Space between earth and the sun, inhabited by semi-divine beings. The a real region, the atmosphere, the life-force.
7 Bhur-loka: Man and animals live here. The Vishnu Purana says that the earth is merely one
of thousands of billions of inhabited worlds like itself to be found in the universe.
Different realms of Patala are ruled by different demons and Nagas; usually with the Nagas headed by Vasuki assigned to the lowest realm.Vayu Purana records each realm of Patala has cities in it.
Seven paatalas
8 Atala-loka: Atala is ruled by Bala – a son of Maya – who possesses mystical powers. By one yawn, Bala created three types of women – svairiṇīs (“self-willed”), who like to marry men from their own group; kāmiṇīs (“lustful”), who marry men from any group, and the puḿścalīs (“whorish”), who keep changing their partners. When a man enters Atala, these women enchant him and serve him an intoxicating cannabis drink that induces sexual energy in the man. Then, these women enjoy sexual play with the traveller, who feels to be stronger than ten thousand elephants and forgets impending death.
9 Vitala-loka: Vitala is ruled by the god Hara-Bhava – a form of Shiva, who dwells with attendant ganas including ghosts and goblins as the master of gold mines. The residents of this realm are adorned with gold from this region.
10 Sutala-loka: Sutala is the kingdom of the pious demon king Bali.
11 Talatala-loka: Talātala is the realm of the demon-architect Maya, who is well-versed in sorcery. Shiva, as Tripurantaka, destroyed the three cities of Maya but was later pleased with Maya and gave him this realm and promised to protect him.
12 Mahatala-loka: Mahātala is the abode of many-hooded Nagas (serpents) – the sons of Kadru, headed by the Krodhavasha (Irascible) band of Kuhaka, Taksshaka, Kaliya and Sushena. They live here with their families in peace but always fear Garuda, the eagle-man.
13 Rasatala-loka: Rasātala is the home of the demons – Danavas and Daityas, who are mighty but cruel. They are the eternal foes of Devas (the gods). They live in holes like serpents.
14 Patala-loka: The lowest realm is called Patala or Nagaloka, the region of the Nagas, ruled by Vasuki. Here live several Nagas with many hoods. Each of their hood is decorated by a jewel, whose light illuminates this realm.
Note 1: Vishnu Purana tells of a visit by the divine wandering sage Narada to Patala region. Narada describes Patala as more beautiful than Svarga (heaven). Patala is described as filled with splendid jewels, beautiful groves and lakes and lovely demon maidens. Sweet fragrance is in the air and is fused with sweet music. The soil here is white, black, purple, sandy, yellow, stony and also of gold.
Srimad Bhagavatam describes this region as being more opulent than the upper regions of the universe, which include heaven. The life here is of pleasure, wealth and luxury, with no distress. The demon architect Maya has constructed palaces, temples, houses, yards and hotels for foreigners, with jewels. The natural beauty of Patala is said to surpass that of the upper realms. There is no sunlight in the lower realms, but the darkness is dissipated by the shining of the jewels that the residents of Patala wear. There is no old age, no sweat, no disease in Patala.
Note 2:
According to Vishnu Puranas “Hell”, which in the Hindu scriptures
called “naraka, is below Patala. (It is the realm of death where sinners
are punished). It is not equivalent to the concept of Hell in
Christianity and other religions, as Yama is also Dharmaraja or God of justice; it is a temporary purgatorium for sinners or papis.
All the worlds except the earth are used as temporary places of stay as follows: upon one’s death on earth, the god of death (officially called ‘Yama Dharma Raajaa’ – Yama, the lord of justice) tallies the person’s good/bad deeds while on earth and decides if the soul goes to a heaven and/or a hell, for how long, and in what capacity. Some versions of the theology state that good and bad deeds neutralize each other and the soul therefore is born in either a heaven or a hell, but not both, whereas according to another school of thought, the good and bad deeds don’t cancel out each other. In either case, the soul acquires a body as appropriate to the worlds it enters. At the end of the soul’s time in those worlds, it returns to the earth (is reborn as a life form on the earth). It is considered that only from the earth, and only after a human life, can the soul reach supreme salvation, the state free from the cycle of birth and death, a state of absolute and eternal bliss.
In Sandhya vandanam also we say these higher locas names in the order.
Fourteen lokas
seven higher worlds (heavens) and
seven lower ones (underworlds).
(The earth is considered the lowest of the seven higher worlds.).
The higher worlds are the seven vyahrtis: bhuu, bhuvas, svar, mahas, janas, tapas, and satya above) and
seven lower ones (the “seven undreworlds” or paatalas: atala, vitala, sutala, rasaataala, talatala, mahaatala and paatala loka):
Seven Vyahrtis : Gods and mortals live in these worlds
1 Satya-loka: Brahma’s loka. Satya-loka planetary system is not eternal. Abode of Truth or of Brahma, where atman are released from the necessity of rebirth.
2 Tapa-loka: Abode of tapas or of other deities. Ayohnija devadas live here.
3 Jana-loka: Abode of the sons of God Brahma.
4 Mahar-loka: The abode of great sages and enlightened beings like Markendeya and other rishies.
5 Svar-loka: Region between the sun and polar star, the heaven of the god Indra. Indra, devatas, Rishies, Gandharvas and Apsaras live here: a heavenly paradise of pleasure, where all the 330 million Hindu gods (Deva) reside along with the king of gods, Indra.
6 Bhuvar-loka (aka Pitri Loka): Sun, planets, stars. Space between earth and the sun, inhabited by semi-divine beings. The a real region, the atmosphere, the life-force.
7 Bhur-loka: Man and animals live here. The Vishnu Purana says that the earth is merely one
of thousands of billions of inhabited worlds like itself to be found in the universe.
Different realms of Patala are ruled by different demons and Nagas; usually with the Nagas headed by Vasuki assigned to the lowest realm.Vayu Purana records each realm of Patala has cities in it.
Seven paatalas
8 Atala-loka: Atala is ruled by Bala – a son of Maya – who possesses mystical powers. By one yawn, Bala created three types of women – svairiṇīs (“self-willed”), who like to marry men from their own group; kāmiṇīs (“lustful”), who marry men from any group, and the puḿścalīs (“whorish”), who keep changing their partners. When a man enters Atala, these women enchant him and serve him an intoxicating cannabis drink that induces sexual energy in the man. Then, these women enjoy sexual play with the traveller, who feels to be stronger than ten thousand elephants and forgets impending death.
9 Vitala-loka: Vitala is ruled by the god Hara-Bhava – a form of Shiva, who dwells with attendant ganas including ghosts and goblins as the master of gold mines. The residents of this realm are adorned with gold from this region.
10 Sutala-loka: Sutala is the kingdom of the pious demon king Bali.
11 Talatala-loka: Talātala is the realm of the demon-architect Maya, who is well-versed in sorcery. Shiva, as Tripurantaka, destroyed the three cities of Maya but was later pleased with Maya and gave him this realm and promised to protect him.
12 Mahatala-loka: Mahātala is the abode of many-hooded Nagas (serpents) – the sons of Kadru, headed by the Krodhavasha (Irascible) band of Kuhaka, Taksshaka, Kaliya and Sushena. They live here with their families in peace but always fear Garuda, the eagle-man.
13 Rasatala-loka: Rasātala is the home of the demons – Danavas and Daityas, who are mighty but cruel. They are the eternal foes of Devas (the gods). They live in holes like serpents.
14 Patala-loka: The lowest realm is called Patala or Nagaloka, the region of the Nagas, ruled by Vasuki. Here live several Nagas with many hoods. Each of their hood is decorated by a jewel, whose light illuminates this realm.
Note 1: Vishnu Purana tells of a visit by the divine wandering sage Narada to Patala region. Narada describes Patala as more beautiful than Svarga (heaven). Patala is described as filled with splendid jewels, beautiful groves and lakes and lovely demon maidens. Sweet fragrance is in the air and is fused with sweet music. The soil here is white, black, purple, sandy, yellow, stony and also of gold.
Srimad Bhagavatam describes this region as being more opulent than the upper regions of the universe, which include heaven. The life here is of pleasure, wealth and luxury, with no distress. The demon architect Maya has constructed palaces, temples, houses, yards and hotels for foreigners, with jewels. The natural beauty of Patala is said to surpass that of the upper realms. There is no sunlight in the lower realms, but the darkness is dissipated by the shining of the jewels that the residents of Patala wear. There is no old age, no sweat, no disease in Patala.
All the worlds except the earth are used as temporary places of stay as follows: upon one’s death on earth, the god of death (officially called ‘Yama Dharma Raajaa’ – Yama, the lord of justice) tallies the person’s good/bad deeds while on earth and decides if the soul goes to a heaven and/or a hell, for how long, and in what capacity. Some versions of the theology state that good and bad deeds neutralize each other and the soul therefore is born in either a heaven or a hell, but not both, whereas according to another school of thought, the good and bad deeds don’t cancel out each other. In either case, the soul acquires a body as appropriate to the worlds it enters. At the end of the soul’s time in those worlds, it returns to the earth (is reborn as a life form on the earth). It is considered that only from the earth, and only after a human life, can the soul reach supreme salvation, the state free from the cycle of birth and death, a state of absolute and eternal bliss.
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