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[Third Multi-Statement Difficulty] 207 224, with respect to directions, the least number of Siddhas are in the south and north directions / in the east, they are numerous, and in the west, they are more numerous / First Gate // 1 // [224] With respect to directions, the least number of Siddhas are in the south and north directions / in the east, they are numerous, and in the west, they are more numerous / First Gate // 1 //
Discussion of the First Gate of Directions: In the first Sutra of the twelve Sutras (Sutras 213 to 224) presented here, the least number of Siddhas with respect to directions is discussed. The remaining 11 Sutras discuss the least number of beings from the Earth-bodied one-sense beings to the Uttara-Vimana-dwelling Vimana Devas.
With respect to directions: In the first Shruta Skandha of the Acharanga, many types of Dravya-disha and Bhava-disha are mentioned, but here only the Kshetra-disha are considered, because other directions are not useful here and are often uncertain.
The origin (Prabhava) of the Kshetra-disha is from the eight Ruchak-pradeshas located in the middle of the Tiryanch-loka. This is the center of all directions.
The least number of Siddhas with respect to directions: The least number of Siddhas are in the west direction, because there is a scarcity of clouds and vegetation in that direction. Here, the least number is considered with respect to cloud beings, not with respect to subtle beings, because subtle beings are present everywhere in the entire loka and are almost equal everywhere. Among cloud beings, the most numerous are the plant-bodied beings. In a situation where there is more vegetation, there are more beings, and where there is a scarcity of vegetation, there are fewer beings.
Vegetation is more abundant where there is an abundance of water. According to the saying, "Jattha Jalam Tattha Varna," where there is water, there is definitely vegetation, such as algae and seaweed. Even though algae and seaweed are counted as cloud vegetation due to the rise of the cloud karma, they are not visible to the eye because they are very subtle and remain in a condensed form. According to the saying, "Where there is water, there are plant-bodied beings," there is abundant water in the ocean, etc., and the oceans are twice as wide as the islands. Even in those oceans, there are Chandra-dvipa and Surya-dvipa in the east and west respectively. In the area where Chandra-Surya-dvipa are located, there is a lack of water. Where there is a lack of water, there is a lack of plant-bodied beings. In addition, in the west direction, there is the Gautama-dvipa, which is the abode of the Dev named Sasthita, who is the lord of the salt ocean. This Gautama-dvipa is even wider than the salt ocean. There is also a lack of water there, so there is a lack of plant-bodied beings. For this reason, the fewest beings are found in the west direction.
There are more beings in the east direction than in the west direction, because there is no Gautama-dvipa in the east direction, so there are more beings there. There are more beings in the south direction than in the east direction, because there is abundant water in the south direction due to the absence of Chandra-Surya-dvipa, so there are many plant-bodied beings. There are more beings in the north direction than in the south direction, because in the north direction, there is a Manas-sarovar, which is as long and wide as a koti-yojana, in one of the islands that are as many yojanas as there are numbers. There is an abundance of water in this Manas-sarovar, so there is an abundance of plant-bodied beings. In the same way, there are many two-sense beings, such as conch shells, which are dependent on water, and ants, which are dependent on conch shells, etc., which are born on the shores of the ocean.