Jain Journal 1994 07

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

Page 22

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JAIN JOURNAL VOL XXIX, NO 1, JULY 1994
pratikramana in Bharatas and Airavatas in the human regions. The rest of the 22 tirthankaras preach 4 yāmas in all these karmabhūmis. (3) A list of the 24 tirthankaras who appear in Bharata in Jambudvipa in this present avasarpini. (4) The 24 tirthankaras teach the 12 Angas. However, the Drstivada does not exist in the 23 interims. The 11 Angas exist in the first and the last 8 interims, but not in the 7 interims in the middle. (5) Duration of the Purva of each tirthankara. (6) Duration of the tirtha of each tirthankara.
The topic of the 24 tirthankaras is treated here, involving the problem of tirthankaras' roles in teaching the Jaina dharma in the context of Jaina world and the time cycle. This topic thus arose at the end of the canonical period, when the Jainas were attempting to establish the Jaina church chronology by clarifying the roles of tirthankara, after completing the Jaina doctrinal system and the structure of Jaina universe. In other words, the problem of the 24 tirthankaras arose in order to establish the idea that the dharmacakra of the Jainas is eternal, for it is constantly turned by these 24 tirthankaras, who are schemed to be born in the human regions periodically at certain periods of kāla-cakra. The factor of kāla-cakra is not at all taken into consideration in the Prajñāpana, while taking up jivas' transmigration in the cosmographical outline.39 The problem of kala-cakra thus came to be taken up after entering the final canonical stage. Let us now examine the background of this problem rather closely.
According to the world view of Brahmanism, the world repeats its creation and destruction, and the duration of its maintenance period is divided into 4 yugas or kalpas consisting of unequal length of time, which dominate over the region of Bharata."
40
The Jainas maintain that ananta jivas and ananta karma matter are united since times eternal, therefore they cannot bring the Brahmanical idea of creation and destruction of the world into the Jaina system of thought. Here devised is Kala-cakra consisting of two half cycles of avasarpini and utsarpini, by which the Jainas explain that as long as this kala-cakra turns, good period and bad period take their turn without creating and destroying the world. Each half cycle is divided into 6 periods of unequal length of time,
39. The date of the Prajñāpanā thus falls in the later canonical stage, but comes prior to the Jambudvipaprajñapti.
40. Kane: History of Dharmasastra, V-1, p.687, n. 1081a