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Biology in Jaina Treatise on Reals
when it intakes different types of physical particles during different types of birth processes. However, the number of physical senses developed depends upon the realisation of appropriate karmic species.
The third type of birth is the special-bed birth observed for hellish and celestial beings. It is pointed out that the celestials take birth from a divine couch covered with divine cloth while the hellish beings take birth from hard mortar holes. Their development period is said to be an Antarmuhurta. This type of birth is beyond the sphere of the scientists.
The section on the births has been described. They are the instruments of acquirement and enjoyment of the objects of the world. The following aphorism describes the types of birth places (yonis):
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overed.
2.
Sacaitta-sIta-samvitäh Setārah Mišrāśca-ekasah Tad-yonayah 2.32
There are nine types of birth places- (i) livingful (ii) cold (iii) covered and the opposite of these three, such as (iv) non-living-ful, (v) hot (vi) open or uncovered and the dual combinations of these three, such as (vii) livingful-cumnonlivingful (viji) hot-cum-cold and (ix) covered-cum-uncovered. 1. The livingful (sacitta) is defined as the birth place where volitional consciousness exists.
The cold is a specific type of touch representing thermal quality. This also denotes the entity having coldness like white etc. which also means the white entity. 3. The 'covered' means a place or an area which is well secured or hidden. It may be a non-visible area. 4. The opposite of these three are also to be taken into account. They are non-livingful, hot and open or uncovered ones. 5. The 'mixed denotes the dual nature. Thus, it involves (i) livingfulcum-non-livingful (ii) cold-cum-hot and (iii) covered-cum-non-covered. 6. The word 'ca' (and, also) indicates inclusion and inclusive combination of each of these. If there were no 'ca' here, it would have meant adjectivation indicating that when livingful etc. are mixed, they are birth places. However, this is not desirable. The word 'ca' denotes that the (i) livingful etc. are not only birth-places when mixed but (ii) they are birth-places individually also. 7. Q. It is contended that there is no use for the word 'ca' here as the meaning of inclusion can be applied there even without it. Not only this, both the meanings- inclusion and adjectivety (of the word 'mixed') could be applied in this case too as intended. A. The grammatical rule indicates that whenever the word is capable of connecting dual meaning of inclusion and adjectivity, the meaning of inclusion is stronger, and, therefore, preferred.
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