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**Vīsavaṁ: Antakriyāpada**
This is the twentieth *Antakriyāpada* of the *Prajñāpanā Sūtra*. This *pada* delves into profound considerations about *anta-kriyā* (the final act) from various perspectives and the specific achievements that result from it.
Every orthodox religion, philosophy, or school of thought in India believes in rebirth and liberation. They prescribe various practices, austerities, self-control, renunciation, rejection, vows, rules, etc., to attain a good next birth or complete liberation from birth and death. The birth of a being is as important as, if not more important than, the end of its life. This *Antakriyāpada* considers this very point so that every seeker can understand whose *anta-kriyā* is good and bad, and why.
*Anta-kriyā* means the action that ends *bhavam* (birth). This action leads to two outcomes: either a new *bhavam* (birth) is obtained, or the individual is completely liberated from birth and death by ending the *manushya-bhavam* (human existence). Therefore, the word *anta-kriyā* is used here in both senses: (1) liberation, (2) death - release from the body and other aspects of this *bhavam*.
This *Antakriyāpada* examines this *anta-kriyā* through ten doors in the twenty-four *daṇḍakavartī* beings: (1) *Antakriyādvāra*, (2) *Anantaradvāra*, (3) *Eka Samayadvāra*, (4) *Udvattādvāra*, (5) *Tīrthaṁkaradvāra*, (6) *Chakrīdvāra*, (7) *Baladēvadvāra*, (8) *Vāsudevadvāra*, (9) *Māṇḍalikadvāra*, and (10) *Ratnadvāra*. The conclusion of this *pada* explains which devotee or non-devotee is born into which deities after death. Finally, there is a discussion about the lifespan of *apamjñō* (beings with *akāmanirjarā* - absence of desires) and its brevity.
The first *Antakriyādvāra* examines which beings attain *anta-kriyā* (liberation) and which do not. Only humans are capable of this kind of *anta-kriyā*. A being has many different *paryāyas* (existences), including hellish ones. Therefore, a being residing in a hellish *paryāya* can attain human existence and then...