Jain Journal 1975 07

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 25

JULY, 1975
Considering the two verses from the Uttarajjhay ana vis-a-vis the two verses quoted from Süyagadanga and also Santyacarya's commentary on samkhayā we may contend that asamkhayam jiviya is a positive statement ; it does not involve absence of a quality, as hitherto assumed, but simply enunciates the Jaina point of view. je samkhayā tuccha parappavāī is its antithesis and here the opponents of the view asamkhayam jiviya have been attacked. Similarly in the Süyagadārga verses the Jaina point of view has been enunciated in ņa ya samkhayamāhu jīviyam and the opponents have been attacked in the remaining portion of the verses. These opponents have been pin-pointed as samkhayā in Uttarajjhayanathey might follow a dictum like samkhaj am jiviyam and hence were called samkhayā. In the Süyagadānga verses they are alluded to in a general way as bālajano. We may assume that these opponents belonged to some sort of a sect. Santyacarya too palpably moves in the same direction. These opponents have been described in the Uttarajjhayana verses as tuccha (mean), parappavāi (speaking ill of others), peijadosanugayä (under the influence of love and hatred, committing the sin of adhering to the pleasing) and parajjhā (under the influence of others, not exercising their own reason). On the strength of the second verse quoted from the Sūyagadanga these opponents may be said to be concerned with the present alone, not believing in the other world and verging on some sort of materialism.
The epithets used for these opponents in the Uttarajjhayaņa are of a general nature except pejjadosanugayā which if interpretted as preyodoșānugata will agree with paccuppannena kāriyam, etc. of the Süyagadārga, concerned as they are with the present alone, they shun śreyas for preyas.
In course of explaining samkhay, Santyacarya has alluded to three sects as stated above. None of these will deserve the materialistic leaning exhibited in the Suyagadārga verse unless we limit the purification of the first case to sheer physical purifications and external decorations. Thus we may conclude that sankhayā are those who are for sheer physical adornments and gratifications, caring little for any sort of spiritual culture. So following our premise that je samkhayā tuccha etc. is the antithesis of asamkhayam jiviya we may explain the latter as ‘life is not to be improved upon by sheer physical decorations so do not waste time in such pursuits and belief, etc'.