ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 02

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 329

casteism and sacrifices and for giving spiritual interpretation of the same which is nonviolence in thought, word and deed.
Chapter XIII tells us the story of the lives of Citta and Sambhūta. The story is found under the same title in the Jātaka stories (No. 498). The story supports the concept of karma and rebirth and the futility of casteism for spiritual welfare is again showcased.
Chapter XIV is titled Işukārīya in which the renunciation of six people of a place called Işukāra is told. It is narrated how the king, the queen, the priest and his wife are inspired by the latter's two sons. The sons tell their Brahmin parents that no son can redeem the parents for everybody is responsible for his deeds. Nobody can be saved by Study of the Vedas or feeding Brahmins in a ceremonial sacrifice. They lead the doer of false actions from darkness to more darkness. Similarities of this tale can be seen in the Jātaka (509) on one hand and Santiparvan (175/217) on the other.
Chapter XVIII tells us about the renunciation of a King called Sanjaya. The king was inspired by a monk in a forest who gives him a sermon on the sin of killing and on the ephemeral nature of life and on the insignificance of power and possession.21 The chapter also gives a list of twenty sovereign monarchs who renounced the world in spite of enjoying such reputed sovereignty. The four kinds of different philosophical schools too are enumerated here and the superiority of the Nirgrantha, Anekānta order is established. It also declares the practice of non-violence superior to all world orders.
Chapter XIX is about the renunciation of the Son of Mrgā i.e. Mrgāputra which reveals that the pleasures of life are like sweet poison, dreadful and painful ultimately. One who embarks on a long journey without sufficient stuff for the way, comes to grief, so does a person who lives without righteousness. The chapter also says that, 'Birth and old age are miserable, so are the diseases and death, the world is full of miseries, where all living beings experience pain'. 22 Verse 19.5 mentions about the 18,000-Śilenga chariot and other virtues of an ascetic. Just as one cannot fill a bag with air and one can't weigh Mt. Meru in a balance, crossing the ocean by oneself is difficult, so is restraint difficult'.23 The chapter also
21 Introduction to Uttarajjhayana Pg. 34 22 Ibid Pg 39-40 23 Introduction to Uttarajjhayana Pg.57
Page 316 of 385
STUDY NOTES version 5.0