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INTRODUCTION : XXVII
ascendance and the possibility of their simultaneous occurrence for any living being and 7. The sex division of various classes of living beings and their immutable life-spans.
The third and the fourth chapters have the descriptions of the - 8. Levels of the nether-world, the hellish creatures living therein, their life-spans, etc., 9. The geographical description of the middle-world detailing its continents, oceans, mountains, areas, etc. as well as that of the human and the sub-human beings dwelling therein, 10. Various types of heavenly gods, their families, their pleasures and grandeours, their life-spans and a description of the different levels of heavens in the upper-world.
The fifth chapter contains descriptions of - 11. Types of (inanimate) matter and their mutual similarities and dissimilarities, their location and expanse, and their functions, 12. The general description of the tangible inanimate matter (Pudgala), its types and the processes of their formation, 13. The reasoned forms of the reality and eternity, 14. Possibility and impossibility of the material bonding, 15. The general characteristic of the matter in terms of its quality and mode, and 16. The characteristics of quality and change and types of changes.
The Essentials Of The Cáritra Mīmānisa - The Căritra Mīmārsā, contained in the remaining five chapters of this treatise, deals with issues such as - 'Which actions and activities are deplorable and abandonable?', 'What is the root cause of such activities?', 'What are the repercussions to the perpetrators of such activities?', “How can they be given up?', 'Which type of activities should be adopted in their stead?', and 'What are the
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