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TATTVĀRTHA SŪTRA
obvious and is as follow. The greater the intensity of sexual passion the greater is mental perturbation, and the greater the mental perturbation the greater is the amount of sexual enjoyment required to get rid of it. The gods residing in the third and fourth heavens have milder sexual passion than those residing upto the second, those residing in the fifth and sixth heavens have milder sexual passion than those residing in the third and fourth, and so on we find that the further upwards a god resides the milder is his sexual passion. Hence it is that the gods residing further upwards suffer from lesser mental perturbation; and hence it is that they require fewer means of sexual enjoyment. The gods residing in the heavens beyond the twelfth have their sexual passion calmed down and so they require no sexual enjoyment whatsoever, whether born of touching, or of looking, or of listening, or of thinking. These gods ever remain submerged in the great joy born of satisfaction. This explains why the joy experienced by a god residing further upwards is said to be greater than that experienced by one residing further down-wards. 8-10.
An Account of the above-mentioned Types of the Four nikāyas of Gods :
The Bhavanvāsi-nikāya consists of the types Asurakumāra, Nāgakumāra, Vidyutkumāra, Suparnakumāra, Agnikumāra, Vātakumāra, Stanitakumāra, Udadhikumāra, Dvīpakumāra and Dikkumāra. 11.
The Vyantara-nikāya consists of the types Kinnara, Kimpuruşa, Mahoraga, Gāndharva Yakşa, Rāksasa, Bhūta and Piśāca. 12.
The Jyotiska-nikāya consists of the types Sūrya (i.e. the sun), Candra (i.e. the moon), Graha (i.e.planet), Naksatra (i.e. constellation), Prakīrṇatārā (i.e. stray star). 13.
• In the Manusyaloka (i.e. the loka-part where alone the human beings are born) the Jyotiska-gods make round about the mountain Meru and are ever on the move. 14.
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