Agam 05 Ang 05 Study Of Bhagvati Vyakhya Prajnapti Sutra

Author(s): Suzuko Ohira
Publisher: Prakrit Text Society Ahmedabad

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sabha, and to X.6.406 for its size and particular accounts of King I'sana. II. 6.162 offers the number of atmaraksas (body guards) of King Camara and the rest of the kings; these are all known to the Prajnapana II. This text refers for their description to the Rajapra'sniya, which again forms an essential part of this text. All these texts are thus placed in the final canonical atage.
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The four lokapalas of Sakra, i.e., Soma, Yama, Varuna and Vaisramana, are described in 11.7.163-67, and those of Isana in IV.1-4/5-8.171-72 which quote II. 7.163-67 for their details. 1.7.163-67 describe the location, their abodes and capital cities, etc. Interestingly enough, each lokapala's duties over the three worlds are assigned here as follows: Soma takes the role of supervising meteorological phenomena incuding conflagrations and famines on the earth, Yama over wars, quarrels and diseases, Varuna over rain and floods, and Vaisramana over the distribution and consumption of treasures, wealth, natural products and so on. Probably due to their important and heavy duties as such, these lokapalas are ranked as high as an indra in II.8.168, which enumerates the dominating gods in each class and subclass of devas up to Kalpavasis. This idea that a lokapala ranks equal to an indra, however, did not receive the approval of the later authors. All these contents were obviously developed in the final canonical stage in the florescence of mythological accounts.
(2) Etymological explanation of certain classes of devas
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Etymological expositions are imparted for the following devas: the Trayastrimsa devas in X.4.403, Lavasaptama devas in Anuttaravimana in XIV. 7.524, Anuttaropapatika devas in XIV.7.525, Avyabadha devas of the Lokantika class in XIV.8.530, and Jrmbhaka devas of the Vyantara class in XIV.8.532. In the course of explanation, it is said in X.4.403 that the class of devas called Trayastrims as exists eternally in the three tenses of time when viewed from avyavacchitti-naya. This concept of naya belongs to the fifth canonical stage, Also while imparting the etymology of Avya badha devas, there occur thirtytwo kinds of dance which frequently apear in the canonical story texts. Generally speaking, an etymological interpretation of a word or a concept does not precede the formulation of a concept itself. The etymological exposition of devas rarely occurs in the fourth stage. Lavasaptama devas appear in the Pra'snavyakarana IV.27 (v.1, p.1232), but hardly do we hear about Jşmbhaka devas in the other canonical texts. (Jşmbhaka devas make their appearance in Jinadasa's Ava'syaka-curri, Rşabhadevaji Kesarimalaji Svetambara Sanstha edition of 1928, v.1, p.150.) We assign all these texts to the fourth-fifth stages excluding X.4.403 which falls in the fifth period.
(3) Devas' rddhi and vikurvana
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II.1.125-32 explain gods' extraordinary fortune (rddhi), splendor (dyuti), strength (bala), fame (yasa), enjoyment (anubhava), happiness (sukha) and capacity for magical creation (vikurvana), of which the dialogue proceeds be