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Bhagavai 5:6:124-127
dainties and delicacies to the genuine śramanas and māhanas. Thus the living beings bind inauspicious long life-span-determining karma.
5.127 kahannam bhamte! jīvā subhadihāuyattãe kammam pakaremti?
goyamā! no pāṇe aivāettā, no musam vaittā, tahārūvam samaṇam vā māhaṇam vä vamdittä namamsittä jäva pajjuvāsittä anṇayareṇam maṇunneṇam pītikāraeṇam asaṇa-pāṇa-khāima-saimeṇam padilābhettä-evam khalu jīvā subhadihāuyattäe kammam pakaremti.
How do, O Lord! the living beings bind auspicious long life-span-determining karma?
Gautama! (the living beings bind) auspicious long life-span-determining karma on account of not causing injury to life, not making false statement, offering homage and obeisance...... up to worshipping the genuine śramaņas and mahanas, offering any kind of agreeable and pleasant food, drink, dainties and delicacies to the genuine śramaņas and mähanas. Thus the living beings bind auspicious long life-span-determining karma.
Bhāṣya
1. Sūtras 124-127
The karma-doctrinal view on the binding of the life-span karma has been given in the Bha. Sataka 8, sutras 425-428, according to which causing injury to life has been stated as the cause of binding of infernal life-span, and making false statement as the cause of binding of sub-human life-span. There is no mention of offering food etc. in those sutras.
In the present dialogue, there is no clear mention of the meaning of short lifespan and long life-span, The long life-span of despicable life-form would not be auspicious; short life-span is better. Short life-span of laudable life is not desirable. Long life-span is agreeable. One, indulging in causing injury to life, making false statement and offering prohibited articles to the ascetics, can not bind human and celestial life-spans.' There is no short life-span in infernal life-form. In subhuman life-form, the life-span is short, so the mention of short life-span in the present dialogue should refer to the life-span of subhuman beings.
Inauspicious long life-span is possible in all the four life-forms. Auspicious long life-span is possible in three life-forms, excepting the infernal life-form.
This whole dialogue is available in Thanam also.2
In the present dialogue, there is mention of short life-span on account of offering prohibited and unaccepted food etc. to the ascetics, and in Bhagavati 8.246, it is said that there is nirjarā (falling away of karma) on account of offering prohibited and unacceptable food. This apparent self-contradiction deserves scrutiny.
1. See Bha. 8.427,428.
2. Thäṇam, 3.17-20.
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