ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04

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

Page 537

Dhy tav da
Vimok a Up dh na
Mah pari
Chapter wise brief is given below:
astra Parij: Knowledge of the weapons of violence.
Six types of living beings according to their body form, (a j vanik ya).
The first chapter has a unique description about life in different beings from stationery/ immobile (sth vara) living beings with one sense organ and those with tras /mobile bodies having two to five sense organs and mind. These six types of living beings, namely those with earth, water, fire, air and vegetation as their bodies and belonging to sth vara category and the rest to the mobile category (ants, mosquitoes, animals, birds, human beings etc.).
The cleaning i.e. methods to dissociate the karmas from the soul, service to the ascetics.
The life /soul in sth vara beings is justified and explained based on their ability to get born, grow and decay, breath, feelings, subtle body, concrete or being cognizable by senses. cr ga proves life in these beings by a number of examples and logical discussions e.g.
Liberation i.e. methods of performing austerities /penance.
Pillow of righteousness i.e. conduct of Mah v ra during penance in erring state (chadmastha).
Lost.
·
A human being, who is devoid of his speech and eye senses, feels the pains of pricking/cutting etc of his body and. yet he cannot express these. Similar is the situation of the sth vara beings.
A healthy human being, when inflicted with 32 types of pains simultaneously, cannot express the same. Similarly the sth vara beings even though they feel cannot express their feelings. When a person is made unconscious by others, the unconscious person cannot express his feelings, similarly the sth vara beings cannot express their feelings.
Air and water get polluted and decay by different types of effluents like human beings get suffocated or even die by different types of effluents.
Fire grows when fuel is added to it. It dies when it is starved of fuel like human beings grow with the food they eat and die in the absence of food for long periods.
Like human beings, plans are seen to be born, grow, express feelings and die.
Mah vra, in the end invokes his listeners to believe in omniscient who can cognize subtle things that life exposits in one sensed beings. To support his claim, he even provides anti bodies of each type of living being belonging to sth vara category.
Concerning the living beings with mobile bodies, it talks of three ways in which such beings are born e.g. those born out of some liquids /sweat and by cracking the earth (all three put in the category called sammurchama or unconscious beings like bacteria, virus, live cells in sperm or body etc); out of the egg born with naked body or in a shell through a birth place called garbhaj and finally with celestial body like heavenly and hellish beings i.e. without a specific place from where they are born. Mobile beings are those who have the knowledge to move i.e. to be comfortable they move from place to place in search of food, pleasure or avoiding pain etc. cr ga talks of a number of reasons due to which the mobile beings are killed or hurt by others, e.g.
⚫ Medicinal and cosmetic effect i.e. by using the body or eating the flesh/ using urine or using teeth of some type of beings, the disease can be cured or enhance the potency or beauty of he user /killer.
For using the skin of living beings for use as clothing, shoes etc.
Fearing that such and such types of beings will kill or had killed / hurt me or my loved ones.
For entertainment like bull fight, riding, transport of goods and people etc.
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Ahi s or non violence:
The arhats and the bhagawats of the past, present and future, all say thus, speak thus, declare thus, explain thus: all breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with
STUDY NOTES version 4.0