Biology in Jaina Treatise on Reals

SR No.: 001656
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: N L Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith
Publication Year: 1999
Total Pages: 210
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Religion, & Biology
File Size: 13 MB

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Biology in Jaina Treatise on Reals
or indirectly. However, their uterine birth types require elucidation. Most of the current Jaina scholars dealing with this topic have kept mum over this discrepancy.
4. The concept of a-sexual birth of 5-sensed beings is not recognisable in current biology.
The worldly beings have three types of births and 84 lac types of birth places under nine classes. They have bodies which are formed due to good and bad karmas and which serve the basis of experiencing the karmic bonds and its fruitions. Now, how many bodies do the worldly beings have? The followinhg aphorism describes them:
Audarika-Vaikriyaka-Ahāraka-Taijasa-Kārmaṇāni Sarīrāṇi 2.36
There are five bodies- (i) gross (ii) transformable or protean (iii) ejectable or communication (iv) luminous and (v)karman.
1.
The body (sarira) means entities which undergo withering and decay. 2 Q. If bodies are defined as those undergoing decay, the earthen pots etc. will also have to be called so as they are also destroyed. This will be an overstretch of the definition.
A. This is not so. An entity is called a body because it is formed due to the realisation of physique-making karma of body. This is not there in the nonliving earthen pots etc. Hence, there is no over-stretching.
3 Q. If the body is defined on the basis of the realisation of physiquemaking karma of body, the etymological meaning of the term in terms of decaying entity does not stand.
A.
This is not correct. There is root-based derivation even for conventional words like 'gau' (cow) etc. We have a derivative meaning for cow as that which moves (root-gam). We have a similar derivation for body (sarira) form the root 'sr' (to decay).
4 Q. (The Vaiseṣikas contend that) The body is not defined as an entity due to the realisation of physique-making karma but it is defined as due to the inherent relationship of body with the general-cum-particular quality of body
ness.
A. This is not correct. In fact, the quality of body-ness does not exist. If the nature of the body is not accepted, there will be indefiniteness about its specific relationship with the body-ness. Thus, the assumption of a separate class of body-ness does not stand scrutiny. Hence, there is no body-ness.
5.
The first body is called gross body as it is extensive or large.
6.
The transformable body is that which can assume various forms- big, small, one, many, thin, thick etc. due to the eight-fold supernatural power. The process of each transformation is known as 'Vikriya'.
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