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EXISTENCE AND NON-EXISTENCE
Comment on verse 21 In this verse Samantabhadra claims that the phenomenon of causation remains unexplained both on accepting the doctrine of absolute being and on accepting the doctrine of absolute nonbeing. Now the very fact that the reality of the phenomenon of causation was deliberately repudiated by the transcendentalists and by them alone should lead us to expect that neither the doctrine of absolute being nor the doctrine of absolute nonbeing is to be attributed to an empiricist school. Let us however wait till Samantabhadra explicitly charges an empiricist school with tending to repudiate the reality of the phenomenon of causation - and with consequent playing into the hands of the transcendentalists.
Verse 22 धर्मे धर्मेऽन्य एवार्थो धर्मिणोऽनन्तधर्मणः। अङ्गित्वेऽन्यतमान्तस्य शेषान्तानां तदङ्गता॥२२॥
Thus the pointing out of each new attribute in an entity serves a new purpose; for when in an entity possessed of innumerable attributes one particular attribute is treated as primary the remaining ones become secondary. (22)
Note : Vasunandin says that an alternative reading for dharme dharme'nya evārthah is bhange bhange'nya evārthah; on this new reading the translation should be: “Thus each new form of assertion serves a new purpose; for when etc.”
यदि पुनः प्रत्युपाधि परमार्थतः स्वभावभेदो न स्यात् तदा दृष्टेऽभिहिते वा प्रमाणान्तरमुक्त्यन्तरं वा निरर्थकं स्यात्, गृहीतग्रहणात् पुनरुक्तेश्च स्वभावातिशयाभावात् । सदुत्पत्तिकृतकत्वादेः प्रत्यनीकस्वभावविशेषाभावात्यावन्ति पररूपाणि तावन्त्यः ततस्ततोव्यावृत्तयः प्रत्येकमित्येषापि कल्पना मा भूत् । सतां हि स्वभावानां गुणप्रधानभावः स्यात् । ततः परिकल्पितव्यावृत्त्या धर्मान्तरव्यवस्थापनं परिफल्गुप्रायम्, वस्तुस्वभावाभावप्रसङ्गात् । तथेन्द्रियबुद्धयोऽपिस्वलक्षणविषयामाभूवन्, केवलंव्यावृत्तिं पश्येयुः, अदृष्टेविकल्पायोगात् अतिप्रसङ्गात् च ।।२२।।
Cornment on verse 22 In this verse Samantabhadra seems to be answering the charge of redundancy that might be levelled against the Jaina doctrine of ‘seven
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