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GOMMATASARA.
115
Commentary. Gháta sharira, an obstructive body is a gross body which obstructs and is obstructed by other objects. A body which neither obstructs nor is obstructed by other objects is agháta sharira nonobstructive or a fine body. A fine body can pass through any kind of matter.
Gross bodies are called destructible or obstructive because they alone can destroy each other. Fine bodies are in destructible or non-obstuctive because nothing can kill them and they can kill nothing. They die a natural death at the exhaustion of their age karma. They pervade throughout the whole universe. तदेहमंगुलस्स असंखभागस्स विंदमाणं तु।
आधारे धूलाओ सम्वत्थ णिरंतरा सुहमा ॥ १८४ ॥ तदेहमङ्गलस्यासंख्यभागस्य वृन्दशानं तु । आधारे स्थूलाः सर्वत्र निरन्तराः सूक्ष्माः ॥ १८४ ॥
184. (Know) thou (that) their bodies (are equal to) an innumerable part of a cubic finger. Gross bodies need support but fine bodies need no support and exist everywhere in the universe) with nothing intervening between them.
Commentary. The physical size of such souls is so small that a grain of earth, a drop of water, a tiny flame, or a breath of wind, contains numberless embodied souls.
From the smallest undevelopable fine air bodied being up to the largest developable gross earth bodied being there are 42 stages of different sizes body. For there various degrees. See table Gathas 97 to 101.
The host souls, Nigoda vegetables which derive support from the host-individual-souled vegetables are all gross-bodied and not finebodied, which need no support.
उदये दु वणप्फदिकम्मस्स य जीवा वणफ्फदी होति । पत्तेयं सामण्णं पदिहिदिरोत्ति पत्तेयं ॥ १८५॥ उदये तु वनस्पतिकर्मणश्च जीवा वनस्पतयो भवन्ति । प्रत्येकं सामान्यं प्रतिष्ठितेतरे इति प्रत्येकम् ॥ १८५ ॥
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