Disclaimer: This translation does not guarantee complete accuracy, please confirm with the original page text.
The twenty-eighth *Aaharapad* (Dietary Chapter) of the *Prajnapanasutra* discusses in detail the food and non-food of worldly beings and Siddhas through eleven and thirteen gates of two objectives. The soul is inherently non-eater, because the pure soul (Siddha-Buddha-Mukta Paramatma) does not have a body, karma, attachment, etc. Being nir-anjan (stainless) and nir-akar (formless), it never desires food. As is the nature of Siddhas, so is the nature of the soul from the perspective of *Nischyanaya Drishti* (certain vision). Therefore, a question arose in the minds of various philosophers, seekers, and thinkers: If the soul is non-eater, then why does it feel hungry? Why do humans, animals, birds, etc., eat for the satisfaction of hunger? If beings have to eat due to the body and karma of *kshudhavedaniya* (hunger-related), then these questions arise: Siddhas are non-eaters, but how do the twenty-four *dandakavarti* beings from hell to the celestial beings, whether sentient, non-sentient, or mixed, eat? Do they desire food? If they do, after how much time does the desire arise? Which being eats what? Do they eat from all *atma-pradeshas* (soul-regions) or from one region? Do they eat repeatedly in life or only once? How much do they eat, how much do they taste? Do they eat all the *pudgalas* (particles) they have taken? How do they transform the ingested *aahar-pudgalas* (food particles)? Do they eat the body of *ekendriyadi* (one-sense beings)? And among them, who is *lomaahari* (hair-eater), who is *prakshepaahari* (particle-eater), and who is *projj-graahari* (ejector-eater)? Who is *manobhakshi* (mind-eater)? These and other discussions related to food are discussed in the first objective of this chapter. * In addition, many questions related to food remain: Are one or many beings, or all twenty-four *dandakavarti* beings, eaters, or is there any being who is also a non-eater? If any being is a non-eater in any state, then for what reason? In the context of these two questions, the second objective discusses the eater-non-eater comprehensively through thirteen gates: *bhavya* (future), *sanjna* (consciousness), *leshya* (tendency), *drishti* (vision), *sanyam* (restraint), *kashaya* (passions), *jnana-prajnana* (knowledge-wisdom), *yoga* (practice), *upayoga* (application), *veda* (knowledge), *sharira* (body), *paryapti* (sufficiency). * Looking at the answers of the first objective, many mysterious and profound facts are revealed as solutions for the seeker. For example, the food of the *vaikriya* (transformed) body is non-sentient. 1. *Pannavanasuttam Bha. 1, p. 392*