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(i) The first is āhāra paryāpti—the union of the soul with the fertilized ovule; this is instantaneous;
(ii) The second is sarīra paryāpti-adoption of the ovule as its physical body by the soul; These are followed by the acquisition of the capabilities of perceiving through sense organs, breathing. communicating and thinking. Until the consummation of all the potential faculties, the organism is partially developed (aprayāpta). After consummation it is fully developed (paryāpata). Since there is a possibility of the organism dying before becoming fully developed, this is made a basis of division. Thus partially developed is only a transitional stage and so there are no further divisions which leaves the gross and fully developed plants.
The gross and fully developed plants are of two kinds:
(a) Plants in which each soul possesses its own physical body
(b) Plants in which many soul share one common physical body
This is again a unique principle enunciated by Jains. Besides the fact that there are innumerable living organisms in each living plant—the integral plant is one soul; separate soul pervade each organ (leaf, flower, fruit etc.) while some organs have innumerable souls—a class of some plants are such that in some of their organs, each soul does not have a body of its own but a large number—infinity-of soul are compelled to share a common body. They come into existence together, breathe and live together and die together. Onions, garlic, ginger, āluya (which is not to be confused with ālu or potato) are such plants.
Those which severally have their own body are again divided into twelve categories in accordance with their morphology: (these are given in the section “Biology in Prajñāpanā Sūtra”).
Those plants in which many souls have to share a common body are also given in that section. According to Biology, these are:
1. Rhizine-a thick stem which grows horizontally under ground; common examples are:ginger, canna.
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JAIN BIOLOGY
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