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Ancient Jaina Hymns
323
periods of increasing and decreasing duration. Each main-period lasts ten ‘koțākoțīs of Sāgaropamas's.
A 'Kālacakra' or 'Kalpa', i.e., the aggregate of one Utsarpiņi plus its subsequent Avasarpiņi, thus lasts twenty kotākoțis of Sāgaropamas'.
An 'Avasarpiņi' has the following six 'Ārās', the direction of development and the order of which is simply reversed in an 'Utsarpiņi':
(1) 'Suşama-suşamā’, the beginning of which is characterized by an optimum of physical development and well-being of all that breathes. Human beings have a body-height of six miles, and live upto an age of three palyopamas, enjoying undisturbed bliss, fed and clad by wishing-trees, husband and wife being born together as twins, and dying together when their time is up. There is neither fear nor pain, neither crime nor vice, nor worrying about scruples of justice or religion. But on the other hand, there is no possibility of spiritual enlightenment. No Tīrthankara is born, and salvation cannot be attained. As this period passes, everything slowly deteriorates, till, after four koțākotis of sāgaropamas, a certain limit is reached, which marks the beginning of the next 'Ara'.
(2) 'Suşamā', at the outset of which the body-height of man is four miles, and his maximum age two palyopamas. It lasts three kotākoțis of sāgaropamas, Tīrtharkaras are not born. Everything deteriorates further.
(3) 'Susama-duşşamā', at the beginning of which men have a height of two miles and an age of one palyopama. Towards its end, the first Tīrthankara appears, with a body 500 dhanu'high, and enters ‘Nirvāṇa'after a life of 84,00,000 ‘pūrvas's. Three years and eight and a half months after his ‘Nirvāṇa', this period comes to an end, having lasted two koțäkotis of sāgaropamas, and seen the end of the wishing-trees and of the twinship of husband and wife.
(4) 'Dușşama-suşamā', during which deterioration continues, till at its end, the human body is only seven ‘hasta' high, and
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