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CHAPTER I
CLASSES OF LIVING SUBSTANCE AND NON-LIVING
SUBSTANCE
Treatment of Non-living Substance The first Pada of Prajñāpanāsūtra systematically classifies the fundamental entities into various divisions and sub-divisions. All the remaining Padas lucidly treat of these very entities. Throughout the text first divisions and sub-divisions of the subject under consideration are pointed out and then the subject is described. Accordingly, the description is divided into two parts, viz. description of Living Substance (jiva) and that of Non-living Substance (ajiva) (Sūtra 3). First Non-living Substance is taken up for description (Sūtras 4-13) because it demands brief treatment. And the remaining entire text, barring some exceptions, elaborately treats of jīvas in various ways.
In the treatment of Non-living substance, first its twofold classification viz. rūpi (having physical qualities, viz. colour, taste, etc.) and arūpi (having no physical qualities) is pointed out and then its exposition is conducted. In the rūpī class is included the Pudgala (Matter) Substance only and in the arūpi class the remaining Substances, viz. Dharmastikāya (Medium of Motion) etc. It deserves notice that while describing the fundamental divisions no general term, viz. dravya (substance), tattva (entity) or padārtha (category) is employed. This proves the antiquity of the present work.
Further the divisions of Dharma, Adharma and Ākāśa are made on the basis of deśa and pradeśa. But nowhere in the entire work do we come across their definitions. Nor is the meaning in the text given of the term 'astikāya' which the author uses compounded with these three terms, 'Dharma' etc. But it is noteworthy that the term astikāya is never compounded with the term Addhāsamaya. This definitely suggests that there is some difference between those three substances on the one hand and Addhasamaya on the other. Moreover, the term astikāya is not found compounded with the term jiva. But this does not mean that the author by so doing meant to deny the pradeśas in the case of jivas. It is so because in the 5th Pada there certainly occurs a discussion based on the belief in the pradeśas of jīva (Sūtra 440 etc.).
Those divisons of jiva and ajiva that are considered to be fundamental in the 1st Pada are called by the names of paryāya and parināma (jiva paryāya, jivapariņāma and ajivapıryāya, ajivaparināma) P. 16
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