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

Page 167

Biology in Jaina Treatise on Reals
of spacepoints of the luminous body is infinite times the number of spacepoints of the ejectable body and (ii) the number spacepoints of the karman body is infinite times the number of spacepoints of the luminous body.
What is the multiplication factor here?
It is infinite-fold of the number of non-liberatables. Alternatively, the multiplication factor is infiniteth part of the salvated beings (as in some earlier cases too).
Q.
A.
Q. The luminous and karmanic bodies should be taken as equal with respect to the number of spacepoints as both of them have infinite times the number of them.
A. There is no spacepointal equality between the two. The infinity has also infinite number of variety like the numerable varieties of numerable number. Thus, the two have different number of spacepoints.
2. Q. This aphorism indicates that the number of spacepoints in the luninous and karmanic bodies is infinite times the number of spacepoints of the ejectable body. Thus, both these bodies have equal number of spacepoints.
A. This is not so. The word 'in successive order' is supplied form the earlier aphorism 2.37 here. Thus, the aphorism means that the number of spacepoints in the two bodies increases infinite-fold in succession.
3. Q.
The aphorism 2.39 should have the word 'para-pare' (prior and posterior) in place of 'pare' alone in the end. It is because the karmanic body is posterior (para) and the luminous body is prior (a-para). The aphorism also refers to these bodies.
4. A.
This is not so. The order of pronunciation does not represent the priority and posteriouity of the two bodies here. The word 'pare' (posterior) has been used to indicate the posteriority of these two bodies with respect to the ejectable body. Thus, this is the case of knowing things intellectually rather than verbally alone.
5.
Alternatively, the word 'para' (beyond or distant) is used in the case of separated entities as in the usage, 'Mathura is beyond or distant from Pataliputra (current Patna, Bihar). Here too, the luminous body is beyond ejectable body and the karmanic body is also beyond luminous body. Thus, both the bodies are beyond the other specified body. It is, therefore, justified to use the word 'pare' instead of 'parapare' in this aphorism.
6. Q. It is contended that the luminous and karmanic bodies shoud be visible or sense-perceptible because they are composed of large or infinite number of
atoms.
A.
This point has already been answered in 2.38.5. It has been pointed out that these bodies have closest atomic packing and, therefore, have finer forms which are imperceptible.
Supplementary Notes
1.
The commentary deals with the following points:
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