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MODERN JAINISM.
will only last for sixteen years and will go on decreasing, and in the same way the average human height, at first only one cubit, will get smaller and smaller.
At the end of the period terrific winds will blow, rains fall and flames appear in such a violent storm that it will almost seem as if the world were going to be destroyed, but as the world is eternal, that of course cannot really happen. Animals and men will shrink to the size of seeds, and birds and the seeds of every plant will take refuge in the river Ganges, in the ocean, or in caves.
At last the time will come for the era of Utsarpiņi to recommence, and a gradual improvement will set in : the seeds will grow, and in the third period the Jaina religion will begin afresh. In due course this era will again be followed by Avasarpini, and so on in endless succession, as night follows day.
