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A SELECT GLOSSARY
Anga : The main corpus of the Jain canon. This consists of twelve treatises, cleven of which are
extant according to Svetämbara tradition. Arhat : A great religious leader, deserving supreme veneration. An Arhat is one who has become
free of desire, attachment and worldly possession. He is a great soul who has destroyed the
bonds of karma, washing away the stains that cause endless rebirth. Avadhi-knowledge : Intuitive cognition that occurs without the aid of the sense-organs. Avasarpini : According to Jain conception, Time moves like a wheel repeating itself in endless cycles.
Every turn of this wheel has two phases : those of progression and regression. Avasarpint is the name given to the regressive phase. This is the time when all things-men, beasts and material objects-move away from the state of perfection towards gradual degeneration. Avasarpini has six stages known as spokes (ūrā); each stage takes the world a step lower towards degeneration. The stages are in succession : susama-susama, susama, susama
duhşama, duk sama-supama, duk sama and, finally duhşama-duhsama. Baladeva : The elder brother of a Vasudeva (see Vasudeva). Bhavanapati : A specific group of gods who reside in the nether regions. Cakravarti: a universal monarch. Gana : A specific group or congregation of monks. Ganadhara : A principal disciple of a Tirtharkara. He leads and looks after a gana (see above).
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