________________
NandiSootra
reading or listening of which inspires one towards religion is called Jnatadharmakatha.
Its first part has 19 chapters. The second has 10 sections and every section has numerous chapters. Every chapter has one story and at the end of the story is given the lessons contained in the story. There is interesting description of the lives of the characters in the story, their residences, their culture and other details. How a being drifts towards immorality and how, having been inspired towards morality, indulges in spiritual practices and progresses on the path of spiritual development. All these things have been discussed in eloquent style.
In Jnatadharmakatha Sutra are included stories from the period of Bhagavan Mahavir, Arishtanemi, and Parshvanath. The story of the life of Bhagavan Mallinath and that of the earlier births of Draupadi has also been given. In the second shrutskandha are given the details about some shramanis of Bhagavan Parshvanath's order reincarnating as goddesses. All this makes it interesting as well as inspiring reading.
7. UPASAKADASHAN""SUTRA
[145] MEANING-Question - What is this Upasakadashang Sutra?
Answer In Upasakadashang Sutra topics like cities, gardens, chaityas, forests, samavasarans, kings, parents, religious leaders, religious tales, special powers acquired during this birth and others, renouncing mundane indulgences, initiation, modes or variations, study of shrut, observation of austerities, vows of modesty and virtues, vows of limitations, vows of critical review, partial-ascetic vows with fasting, accepting pratima, afflictions, ultimate vow, bhakt pratyakhyan, paadopagaman, reincarnation as god, rebirth in a good clan, regaining of enlightenment, and last rites, etc. related to shramanopasaks (the worshippers of ascetics; another term for shravaks) have been discussed.
Upasakadashang Sutra has limited vachana (readings, lessons, compilations, editions). It has countable anuyogadwar, countable verses, countable couplets, countable niryukti (parsing), countable sangrahanis, and countable pratipattis.
This Upasakadashang Sutra is seventh among the Angas. It has one shrutskandha (part), 10 chapters, 10 uddeshan kaal and 10 samuddeshan kaal. Measured in pad (sentence units) it has countable thousand pads. It has countable alphabets, infinite gum (meanings) and infinite paryaya (variations). It has descriptions of limited number of mobile beings, and infinite immobile beings. Established with the help of shashvat (eternal or fundamental), knit (created or experimented) and natural evidences, the tenets of the Jina have been stated (akhyayit), propagated (prajnapit), detailed (prarupit), explained (with thehelp of metaphors) (darshit), clarified (with the help of examples) (nidarshit), and simplified (with the help of discourse style) (upadarshit).
It has been presented in such charan-karan style that if a person is engrossed in its studies, he becomes a scholar and an expert of the subject.
This concludes the description of Upasakadashang Sutra.
COMMENTARY Upasakadashang Sutra contains the life stories of ten special shravak disciples of Bhagavan Mahavir. Each of its ten chapters has the details of the mundane and divine grandeur of one of these shravaks. Also included are the discussions about the anuvrats and shikshavrats (supporting vows of spiritual discipline).
Aagam- 44 -NandiSootra
~134~
Compiled by- Deepratnasagar
