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KARMA AND THE
harmful things and declines health-giving food; another type of this karma, Miśramohanīya karma, forces us to vacillate, resting our faith sometimes on what is true and sometimes on what is false; while, owing to Samyaktva. mohaniya karma, though we know which faith is true, we cannot attain to full devotion and consecration to it. The Jaina liken the influence of these three classes of Mohanīya karma to the results arising from taking the grain Kodaro. If this grain be eaten without any preparation, it causes the most intense giddiness such as quite to bewilder the eater. Such is the effect of Mithyātva; if the husk of the grain be removed, the result is less stupefying and resembles that of Miśra; whereas, if the grain be thoroughly cleansed, the occasional slight uneasiness it may cause is comparable to Samyaktva. Another karma, Darśanamohanīya karma, arises from taking life in the name of religion (as Hindus and Mohammedans do when they slay goats at their religious festivals), or from misappropriating funds or falsifying true religion. Again, taking part in state intrigues, acting immorally, administering evil medicines, spreading false superstitions and giving full play to all the passions give rise to Caritramohaniya karma. Only when Mohaniya karma, the greatest of them all, is extinguished, can the soul reach mokşa.
The fifth great division, Āyu karma, determines the length of time which a jiva must spend in the form with which his karma has endowed him, for not only the prison but also the term of imprisonment varies according to the weight of karma acquired. • There are four divisions of this karma, one of which (Deva āyu karma 1) decides how long a jiva who has become a god a shall remain one. The Jaina believe in four classes of gods: those who inhabit the
1 Or Devayuhkarma.
2 It should be noticed that though the Jaina use the same names for the gods as the Hindus employ, the words have often a different connotation ; e.g. whereas the Hindus use the word Indra to denote the rain-god, the Jaina believe in not one but sixty-four Indras, who have nothing to do with rain, but who are the rulers of sixty-four different kingdoms.
v. Ayu
