Scientific Contents in Prakrta Canons

SR No.: 001670
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: N L Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith
Publication Year: 1996
Total Pages: 608
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Science, & Religion
File Size: 9 MB

Page 508

486 : Scientific Contents in Prākrta Canons
may have any of the four destinities or transit points - hellish, celestials, sub-human and human. Though the scientists deal with the present, still they are working to look into the problem of transit itself and nothing definite could be said on this point as yet. Of course, the destinities of humans and animals are realities in the world. These have been described both — physi-cally and psychically in canons. The transits, some say, are more of a psychological nature than real so that beings may follow right path while living in the world.
The mobile beings have 3-5 types of bodies - some gross and some fine. Their gross bodies contain eight major parts in five-sensed beings : 2 arms, 2 legs, buttock, back, chest and head. These parts could have many sub-parts-32 pointed out in Ācārānga 20 and mini-parts. These bodies have different shapes and sizes. They have bones and bone joints. The gross bodies have many layers. These are subject to vanish while fine bodies continue in the coming generations.
There are five types of mobiles with respect to senses as already said — 2,3,4 sensed, 5-sensed non-rational, 5sensed rationals. Out of which the completioned human population has been said to be 8 X 1028.19 However, this number seems to be discrepant when one learns the total population of the completioned and non-completioned humans in the world is a fractional multiple of Jagaśreņi whose value is roughly 1020-1021 as per calculations of Jain22 and Munishri23. How 1028 could be substracted from this number to calculate the population of non-completioned humans ? Thus, either of these two values should be out of tune and they should be looked into to make them concordant.
There is a further discrepancy in this canonical population when it is compared with the current statistics of about 4.2X109 out of which canons point out 3/4 to be women24 in contrast with overall world average of roughly 51 : 49. Per chance, this statement is with reference to psychical attitudes rather than physical forms. Because of discrepancy in the total