Vaikuntha
Vaikuntha, also called Vishnuloka, and Tirunatu in Tamil, is the abode of Vishnu, the supreme deity in the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism, and his consort, Lakshmi, the supreme goddess of the sect.
According to Ramanuja, Vaikuntha is the Parama Padam or Nitya Vibhuti, an "eternal heavenly realm", and is the "divine imperishable world that is God's abode". In Vaishnava literature, Vaikuntha is described as the highest realm above the fourteen lokas, and the place where the devotees of Vishnu go upon achieving liberation. It is guarded by the twin deities, Jaya and Vijaya, the dvarapalakas, or gatekeepers of Vaikuntha. The army of Vishnu, stationed at Vaikuntha, is led by Vishvaksena. The planets of Vaikuntha are described as being full of golden palaces and hanging gardens that grow fragrant fruits and flowers.
The planets of Vaikuntha begin 26,200,000 yojanas above Satyaloka. This does not refer to physical distance. In most of the extant Puranas and Vaishnava traditions, Vaikuntha is located in the direction of the Makara rashi, which corresponds with the constellation of Capricorn. One version of the cosmology states that Vishnu's eye is present at the south celestial pole, from where he watches the cosmos.
Literature
Vedas
The Vedas do not mention Vaikuntha, but a verses in the Rigveda allude to Vishnu's potential abode:Bhagavata Purana
Vaikuntha and its characteristics are described in the Bhagavata Purana, a revered text in Vaishnavism, which was composed between the eighth and the tenth century CE, and maybe as early as the 6th century CE.American Indologist Edwin Bryant, in his book from 2003, comments about the verses describing Vaikuntha in the text of Bhagavata Purana:
Translation of some verses in Canto 2, by Bibek Debroy:
It is also said that Vaikuntha is the liberated world or the world after moksha.