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Notes Bk. I
223
6. The word 'sanpāviu-kāme' (Sanskrit. sanprāptakāmaḥ) means one intent on attaining the sphere of the liberated souls. This would sound inconsistent, since Mahāvīra was a vītarāga, i.e., above all attachments. The desire to attain the sphere of the liberated souls is also a sort of attachment. But really there is no inconsistency because the expression is only aupacärika which means the imposition of our own reading/feeling on Mahāvira. It was not necessarily his own feeling.
7. Java is a word used at many places throughout the Sūtra. It signifies the omission of certain detail, for which the reader is to refer above or to some other text where it is given. In the present context, the details omitted relate to the physical features of Mahāvira till the description of the congregation, which are contained in the Uvavāia Sūtra.
8. 'Samacauraṁsasamthānasamthie' in the Sūtra signifies the bodily structure of Indrabhūti Gautama which had scme speciality. The shape of the body is 'saṁthāna', and when it has a fourfold balance as follows, the body is said to be wellbalanced : when seated in the padmāsana posture, the difference between the two knees equals the difference between the seat and the forehead, equals the difference between the right shoulder and the left knee, equals the difference between the the left shoulder and right knee.
9. 'Vajjarisahanārāyasarghayane' indicates how the joints of Gautama's body were set and rivetted in a particular form in order to impart sufficient strength to the bone structure to make the body capable of bearing the austerities and hardships of penance.
10. Four adjectives of penance signify as follows:
ugga-vigorous, by dint of his having practised
incessant and prolonged austerities and penances ; ditta—radiant, because of the burning of karma ; tatta-glowing, in consequence of aforesaid austerities
and penances; and maha-great, because of austerities and penances difficult
for men.
