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8.25]
Just as there can be a change in the nature of bondage (bandha) due to the transformations of the provinces (pradeśa) in the course of time, the nature of the karma experienced can also change; thus, a slow karma can become intense, and likewise, the state of existence can shift from superior to inferior and from inferior to superior. After the fruition of the results (phalodaya), the condition of liberated karma separates from the karmas as a result of the experience (anubhava) of the intense or mild outcomes, meaning it no longer remains attached. This is known as the cessation of karma (karma-nivṛtti) or the shedding of karma (nirjara). Just as the shedding of karma occurs through the experience of its outcomes, it can also often happen through austerity (tapa). By the strength of austerity, karmas can be separated from the soul-provinces even before the fruition of results. This is expressed in the sutra with the word 'cha' (and). 22-24.
The bondage of provinces (pradeśa-bandha) is established due to specific combinations of karma (karmas); those that are stationed in the subtle one-region (sūkṣma-eka-kṣetra) and in infinite provinces (anantānanta-pradeśa) are equipped with bondage that extends to all soul-provinces.
The bondage of provinces is a type of relationship, and there are two foundations for that relationship: the karma-skaṇḍa (the component of karma) and the soul (ātma). The eight questions that arise regarding these are answered in this sutra. The questions are as follows:
1. What construction occurs when the bonds of karma-skaṇḍas happen?
2. Which soul-provinces receive these skaṇḍas from above, below, or at an angle?
3. Is the karma-bond of all living beings the same or different? If different, why?
4. Are those karma-skaṇḍas gross or subtle?
5. Is the karma-skaṇḍa that resides in the realm of the soul-provinces bonded only with that soul-province, or does it also bond with those that reside in different realms?
6. Are those karma-skaṇḍas mobile at the time of bondage or stationary?
7. Is the bondage of those karma-skaṇḍas present in all soul-provinces or only in some?
8. How many provinces do those karma-skaṇḍas belong to: countable, uncountable, infinite, or infinitely infinite?
The sutraic answers to these eight questions are as follows:
1. The karmic substances (pudgala-skaṇḍas) that bind with the soul-provinces develop the nature of karma, such as knowledge-obscuring (jnana-varanata) and other natures. In summary, from such skaṇḍas, those natures arise.