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350
Bhagavati Sūtra
sāpacaya (with reinforcement-withdrawal); when there are neither births nor deaths, neither additions nor subtractions, it is nirupacaya-nirapacaya (without reinforcement without withdrawal).
37. The words māna and pramāņa signify the relativity of different units of time. Compared to the smaller units of time, the bigger units are mana, and compared to the bigger units, the smaller ones are pramāṇa. For instance, compared to a muhurta, lava is a pramāņa whereas compared to lava, muhurta is a mana; likewise, when lava is mana, stoka is pramāņa; and so on.
In the entire universe, time and time-sense are restricted to man and his world. Neither gods nor infernal beings have a time-sense. Even animals inhabiting the world of men, and some species of gods who visit this world have no time-sense.
38. The point at issue is that while the sphere is asaṁ-khyāta, nights and days are ananta, the latter being, by all means, bigger than the former. If that be so, how does bigger thing enter into a smaller thing?
a
The argument is a tautology. In a big building, there may be a thousand lamps burning, and no one would express any doubt about it. In the same manner, in unlimited space
there may exist an infinite number of souls. If this be admissible, then, why not infinite nights and days in a sphere which is unlimited ?
39. The Sutra (179)
gives following adjectives for loka: śasvata (eternal); anãdi (without a beginning), ananta (without an end), and so on.
Two types of jivaghanas have been described, viz. ananta and paritta. Jiva has been called ghana beause it combines in itself infinite categories and unlimited pradeśas. Jivaghanas are ananta (without an end) because they continue to exist