________________
INTRODUCTION
saying they were the slips of the author but when we feel clearly that it is the deliberate attempt of the author, we must change our opinion and declare that he had inherited a certain tradition which is lost to us and of which he is the only representative to-day.
Jain Education International
15
After a conventional homage to Virajina and an incidental description of the excellence of the human existence as well as of the religion of the Jinas, the author, like a businessman, enters directly into the subject throwing some observations on the impious character of eight addictions and a quaternary of 10 passions. The prefatory stage which also includes a reference to a heavy number of diseases and their kinds ends at the 16th stanza. The author broadly divides the Ristas into three main groups, namely, पिण्डस्थ, पदस्थ and रूपस्थ. Under the first category, the author brings the cracking of fingers, the motionlessness of 15 eyes, the loss of the sense of taste, the incessant and causeless falling of the drops from the eyes and the inability to see one's own tongue etc. etc. The second category includes the seeing of the moon and the sun in various forms, the feeling cold of a burning lamp, the appearance of the moon with three curves or with no curve and with no sign of a deer etc. etc. He mentions the निजच्छाया, परच्छाया and the छायापुरुष in the third category and dwelling on them at length he offers his various decisions if the shadow is seen devoid of any limbs, principal or subordinate. After this the author comes to the description of Dreams which 25 are classified as and. Assigning various interpretations to the implications of the dreams, the author straightway handles the Re, after alluding a little to the (resembling somewhat with the ) which consists of such things as the greenish appearance of all the directions etc. and the one that is again subdivided into a (analogous to the f) which is evidenced in the inaudibility of even the least noise etc. and that refers to the appearance of one's face, in water and the allied objects, in a wrong or reverse order etc. etc. The exposition of the g is comparatively much 3 absorbing. He enumerates eight types of the E, namely, अङ्गुलिप्रश्न, अलक्तप्रश्न, गोरोचनाप्रश्न, प्रश्नाक्षरप्रश्न, शकुनप्रश्न, अक्षरप्रश्न, होराप्रश्न and लप्रश्न. The author says that he, who sees the disc of the sun on the earth after placing hundred times the forefinger of the right hand charged with the mantric power, lives for six months. That is
For Private & Personal Use Only
5
www.jainelibrary.org