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PREFACE
The visible world is confined to the human beings and the animals. The limits of our knowledge are restricted to senses, mind and the intellect. This limitation of knowledge has limited the scope of the knowables. The world of gods, infernals and subtler beings is beyond our power of direct knowledge, so the description of these objects generates doubt, speculation and wonder.
In the canonical literature, there are frequent discussions of gods, infernals and subtler beings, the reason being that they are amenable only to direct supersensuous intuition. The enlightened person endowed with the power of direct intuition is capable of knowing the invisible world by means of his supersensuous knowledge (clairvoyance or omniscience) and he describes those objects of the invisible world. These descriptions are not amenable to logic and so they are subjects of argumentation for us. The problem of indirect cognition and direct intuition led Ācārya Siddhasena Divākara' to divide the knowable objects in two categories: those that were amenable to logic and those that were not so, or were only subjects of scriptural knowledge. The philosophers who explain things that are amenable to logic by means of logic and those that are not amenable to logic by means of scriptures are the bonafied propounders of the truth. A proper appreciation of the limits of logic and supersensuous perception will save a person both from blind faith and denial of the supersensuous world.
Agnibhūti Gautama asked some questions about the protean power of gods and Lord Mahāvīra answered them. Agnibhūti placed the description of the protean power before Vāyubhūti. Vāyubhūti, however, could not believe his description and approached Lord Mahāvīra for his approval. On getting his approval, Vāyubhūti placed faith in Agnibhūti's description. The upshot of this incident is that only the enlightened person, endowed with the power of direct intuition of the objects that cannot be known by logic, is the reliable source in such matters. And he alone is trustworthy for the person who has only the power of indirect knowledge. Of the eleven immediate chief disciples of Lord Mahāvīra, the first three, viz., Indrabhūti, Agnibhūti and Vāyubhūti, belonged to the Gautama gotru (lineage). In the present canon, most of the questions are asked by Indrabhūti Gautama. In the present dialogue it is worthy of note that Agnibhūti is the principal interrogator, Vayubhūti being only secondarily associated with the dialogue.
In the present Sataka, there are ten sections. The first one begins with the query about the protean power of the gods. By means of the protean power one can change the shape of his body and create many new shapes. All the gods are possessed
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