________________
162
THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE JAINAS.
सुखदुःखसुबहुसस्यं कर्मक्षेत्रं कृषति जीवस्य । संसारदूरमर्यादं तेन कषाय इतीमं ब्रुवन्ति ॥ २८२ ॥
· 282. They (the Acharyas) call (Passion) as Kasháya, (because) it ploughs (Krishati) the field of soul's Karmas, extending to (eternal and infinite) length of mundane existence, and productive of huge crop of pleasure and pain.
Commentary. Passion is the root of the continuance of our mundane existence. Tho whole extent of mundane existence is the long long field which it ploughs. Its crops are the innumerable pleasures and pains with which every mundane form of life is always saturated. This great and incessant plougher is Passion, (Kasháya), so called because it brings about the ploughing (Karshana) of the field of Karmas.
So they call it. This connotes two things, (1) that the account of the passions here is based upon the earlier treatise Mahá-Dhavala which in its second part (Kasháya Prábhrita) deals with passions. The age of Maha-Dhavala which is the last of the trilogy, Dhavala, Jai Dhavala and Maha-Dhavala, and of which only one copy exists in Southern India in the library of the Parshvanath Temple at Múdabidri, District South Canara, is very old indeed. This great commentary was put together by the saintly disciples of Dharasenacharya who flourished about 600 or 700 years after Lord Máháyira. Thus he was a near successor to Umásvámi, author of the marvellous Tattvartha-sutra, and the most illustrious pupil of Sri Kunda-kundá-charya who is daily mentioned in thousands of Jain temples as the carrier onward of the unadulterated, authentic and authoritative tradition of the Jain Doctrines of the great Gana. dharas, (apostles) who learnt the whole, unchangeable, and eternal truth at the feet of the last Lord Mahavira Himself. The saint Nemi-chandra is constantly anxious to advert to this unbroken continuity of Jaina tradition.
The second connotation of the phrase "so they call it" is this. The author disclaims any share in the origination of what he is giving. He tells us that he is merely repeating what has been taught for ages and ages, without any addition or alteration on his part.
सम्मत्तदेससयलचरित्तजहवखादचरणपरिणामे। घादंति वा कसाया चउसोलअसंखलोगमिदा ॥ २८३ ॥
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
