Square 14: Astral plane (bhuvar-loka)
Leela Atlas team · Updated
Square 14 in Leela is the Astral plane, bhuvar-loka in Sanskrit: the world of dreams, imagination and possibility. It is the central square of the second row, the Realm of Fantasy, and the second of the lokas that form the spine of the board. Its gift is a widening inner world; its risk is drifting away into fantasy.
What square 14 means
Johari presents the Astral plane as the second loka, linked to the element of water. After the first row, where life is about survival, security and the body, the player discovers a whole inner landscape: dreams, images, plans and possibilities that the physical world alone could never offer. The world becomes larger than what the eyes can see.
Bhuvar-loka is the second of the seven worlds of Indian cosmology, the realm that lies just above bhu-loka, the earth. On the Leela board the lokas run up the central column like vertebrae: 5, 14, 23, 32, 41, 50, 59 and finally 68. Square 14 is the second step on that spine, at the heart of the Svadhisthana chakra.
The lesson of square 14 is double. Imagination is a real power: it lets you picture another life, create, and sense more than what is in front of you. Yet the same fluid quality can carry you off, so that you live in what might be rather than in what is. Johari names this risk plainly: being swept away by fantasy. A player on the Astral plane is invited to enjoy the richness of the inner world while staying awake to the difference between a vision and a step taken.
On the board
Square 14 is a plain square at the centre of row 2, the Realm of Fantasy. No arrow or snake begins or ends here, so a player only arrives by an ordinary throw from the squares below. Nothing moves you on: you stay on the Astral plane until the next throw. Ahead in the same row lie the Plane of fantasy (15), the snake of Jealousy (16) and the arrow of Mercy (17).
The Bhagavad Gita and this square
Gita 18.35 describes tamasic resolve as the kind that clings to sleep, fear and grief; the dream world beckons, but the sage stays awake where others sleep. The Mahabharata episode of the dead rising from the Ganga for one night shows how powerful, and how brief, such visions are.
Tamasic resolve clings to sleep, fear and grief. The dream world beckons, but the sage is awake where others sleep: do not mistake visions for the essence.
Gita 18.35 · The dead rise from the Ganga for one night
Questions to reflect on
- What am I dreaming while awake?
- Which of my plans lives only in my head?
- What vision is worth turning into one concrete action this week?
Questions
What does square 14 mean in Leela?
Square 14 is the Astral plane, bhuvar-loka: the world of dreams, imagination and possibility that opens once basic needs are met. It is the central square of the second row and the second loka on the board's spine. It honours the richness of the inner world and warns against getting lost in it.
Is square 14 a good or bad square in Leela?
Neither. Square 14 has no arrow and no snake, so landing here does not move you up or down. It is a place to notice how you use imagination. Fed well, imagination becomes art and insight; left unchecked, it becomes daydreaming that replaces life. The square simply shows you which way you are leaning.
What are the lokas on the Leela board?
The lokas are the planes or worlds of Indian cosmology, and in Leela they form the central column of the board: 5 Physical plane, 14 Astral plane, 23 Celestial plane, 32 Plane of balance, 41 Human plane, 50 Plane of austerity, 59 Plane of reality and 68 Cosmic consciousness. Square 14 is the second of them.
Related squares
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