Jaganmohanlal Pandita Sadhuwad Granth

Author(s): Sudarshanlal Jain
Publisher: Jaganmohanlal Shastri Sadhuwad Samiti Jabalpur

Page 393

२४४ ५० जगन्मोहनलाल शास्त्री साधुवाद ग्रन्थ
[खण्ड
doubtful when one finds that they have classified water, air and fire only in their naturally rccurring forms. How they could overlook the enormous variey of liquids like oil, butterfat, asavas etc. and gases is a matter of surprise and clarification. Another fact stated in canons is that all these skandhas are termed as living during their growth and development.26 Their hardness or adhesiveness has been taken as sign of livingness. However, they turn nonliving when heated or cut. We will describe them as in canons.
The Earth
The earth, representing the class of solids, is characterised by different degree of hardness. It has valuables under and over it. Acharang27 and Mulachar23 have classified the earth in the first instance followed by others later. The description is based on its assumption of being one sensed. It has been classified in four categories of earth, earth body, earth creature and earth soul. Out of them, the first and second are clearly nonliving, the third has been called living because of its being substratum for living entities, it is nonliving. The fourth variety seems to be only living about which no clarification is evailable. Currently, it is debatable whether living charactaristics apply to earth as a class. However, it has been shown to have many types.
The earliest earth classification is traceable in Dashvaikalika (i. e. 427 B. C.). It mentions only three types--bhiti, shila and binding materials. Later on these types have been expanded. Scriptures mention its two broad types-soft and hard. The sot five or seven coloured varieties as shown in Achgrang and Prgyapana :29
A : Red, green, yellow, white, black earths.
P: Red, green, yellow, white, black, pandu and panak earths. Perchance these refer to various colored soils found in nature. The hard types are shown in Table 2 as found in literature. Though there seems to be a large amount of similarity in these types, still some addition and deletions forecast many informations. The Acharang earths contain all solids, the 14 gems being additional to the list totalling 35. In the second classification of about 250 year later, not only gems get included in the list but their number also increases from 14 to 18. Moreover, Mercury is also added to metals. This is an exception to the class of solids. This suggests that mercury was discovered or put to use between 300-500 B. C. Though Santisuri follows Pragypana, but it has curtailed the number to 21 by condensing the gems to 3 types and seven metals to one type. Some new substances like chalk and soda have also been added with the exclusion of diamond and pebbles etc. Amrit Chandrasuria 9a follows Mulachara with 21 substances and 15 gems making 36 earths. It
27. Shantisuri, Jiv Vichar Prakarnam, Jain Mission Society, Madras, 1950, p. 23-25 28. Battker, Acharya; Mulachar-1, Bhartiya Gyanpitha, Delhi, 1984, p. 177 29. See ref. 16 p. 38