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Preface
[29]
The Mithyadrsti (wrong-believing) jivas are not fewer, that is, they are more. Here, the meaning of 'fewer' should be understood as follows: on one side, the mass of Mithyadrsti jivas is kept, and on the other side, the heap of all the past ananta utsarpinis (ascending spiritual cycles) and ananta avasarpinis (descending spiritual cycles) that have passed is kept. Again, from the mass of Mithyadrsti jivas, one jiva is taken out, and from the times of the past, one time is taken out together. In this way, gradually decreasing, all the times of the past get exhausted, but the mass of Mithyadrsti jivas does not get exhausted. If even after this, the curiosity of the inquirer remains to know the evidence more clearly, then the Acarya, taking the refuge of the exposition of the region (kshetra-prarUpana), has answered that there are as many Mithyadrsti jivas as there are space-points (akasha-pradesha) in the infinite-infinite lokas (worlds). Thus, knowing the true number of Mithyadrsti jivas through the evidence of substance (dravya), time (kala), and region (kshetra) is called the evidence of the state of being (bhava-pramana).
Secondly, the number of jivas in the third, fourth, and fifth gunasthanas (stages of spiritual development) is generally stated to be a part of the asankhyatavam (innumerable) part of a palya, yet there is a deficiency or excess in their number. Accordingly, the number of jivas in the fifth gunasthana is less than the number of jivas in the fourth gunasthana, and the number of jivas in the fourth gunasthana is less than the number of jivas in the third gunasthana, and the number of jivas in the third gunasthana is less than the number of jivas in the second gunasthana. The Sutrakara (author of the scriptures) has stated the number of jivas in the sixth gunasthana as kotiprthakatva (innumerable), but according to the teaching of the Guru-parampara (lineage of spiritual teachers), Dhavalakarapandita has stated it as five crore, ninety-three lakh, ninety-eight thousand, two hundred and six (59,398,206). The Sutrakara has stated the number of jivas in the seventh gunasthana as sankhyata (countable), but Dhavalakarapandita has explicitly stated that its meaning is to be understood as the quantity below the kotiprthakatva, and according to the teaching of the Guru, it is two crore, sixty-nine lakh, ninety-nine thousand, one hundred and three (2,69,99,103). That is, since the time of the sixth gunasthana is half of the seventh gunasthana, the number of jivas in it is also half of the sixth gunasthana. Above this, the Sutrakara has stated the number of jivas in the Upashamashrenya (series of subsidence) and Kshapakaashrenya (series of destruction of karmas) as 54 and 108 respectively, taking 1, 2, 3 as the initial numbers according to the order of entry. And the duration of both the series is stated to be countable in each gunasthana, but Dhavalakarapandita, after mentioning the views of many Acaryas, has given prominence to the view given in the last gatha, stating the number of jivas accumulated in each gunasthana of the Upashamashrenya as 299 and the number of jivas accumulated in each gunasthana of the Kshapakaashrenya as 588. Accordingly, the number of jivas in the eighth, ninth, and tenth gunasthanas of the Upashama and Kshapaka series should be known as 897-897 each. The number of jivas in the eleventh gunasthana is stated as 299, and the number of jivas in the twelfth gunasthana is stated as 598. The number of jivas entering the thirteenth gunasthana is stated as 108, taking 1, 2, 3 as the initial numbers, and the total number of all the Sayogikevali Jinas (omniscient beings with psychic powers) accumulated in the thirteenth gunasthana is stated by the Sutrakara as shatasahasraprthakatva (innumerable).