Agam 05 Ang 05 Study Of Bhagvati Vyakhya Prajnapti Sutra

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

Page 122

V1.9.344-52 (X), which is a catalogue of bandha of all sorts including 'sarira bandha developed in the post-Prajnapanā time (for bandha, cf. E-3a).
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An stom is explained in V.7.214 as having no halves, no middle and no prade'sa. In other words, an atom is the final unit of the matter, and is indivisible and invisible. All the aggregates up to ananta-pradesi-composites are possessed of prade'sas, and those with an even number of prade'sas have halves but no centres, and those with an odd number of prade'sas have centres but no halves. That composites with an even or odd number of prade'sas do or do not have halves and centres recurs in XXV.4.742. This idea seems to have arisen when the Jainas began to give thought to the features of the construction of aggregates from the standpoint of kşetra, which occur, for instance, in the Prajnapana x (Carama) and the Bhagavati XXV.3 (Sansthana)ff. So let us place V.7.214 in the fourth canonical stage.
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A mention is made in V.7.212 that the atom-composites may or may not vibrate, move... and undergo changes, which is stated as to the part, parts and whole of composites. Since the phenomenon of the combination-division of matter is occurring constantly, it can be easily postulated that the atomcomposites are sometimes in motion and sometimes in non-motion. It must have been postulated that they are in the state of motion when atomic combination and division are taking place and that they are in the state of nonmotion when atomic combination and division are not taking place. This text reads that when they are in motion they undergo transformation, but when they are in a state of non-motion they do not undergo transformation. The discussion made here is undoubtedly elementary, and we place this text in the third canonical stage. The later Jaina theoreticians assume that motion is necessarily inherent in matter, because atomic combination-division take place by the degrees of gunas existing in matter itself. And since the degrees of gunas are constantly changing, matter is ever undergoing constant transformation from the standpoint of bhava. The Vaiseșikas postulate an independent category of karma or motion to explain the world occurrence alongside the other categories.
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Mahābhutavada is an old theory, and the properties (gunas) of mahabhutas evolved during a considerably early period in India. X V1.6.630 expounds that an atom possesses one colour, one smell, one taste and two touches (either of snigdha-rukșa and of 'sita-uşna), that a composite abiding in one prade'sa (sükşma-pariņata-skandha or a subtle composite) may have one to five colours, one to two smells, one to five tastes and one to four touches, and that a composite abiding in more than one pradesa (bādara-parinata-skandha or a gross composite) has complete properties, i.e., five colours, two smells, five tastes and eight touches. We should remember that the properties of a subtle composite here are also shared by karma. Or we may say that the concept of