Jain Journal 1997 04

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

Page 27

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JAIN JOURNAL: Vol-XXXI, No. 4 April 1997 the gigantic (mahanta-mahanta) pisachas, whom he holds to be (of) seven (kinds). 18
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The expression lakes (sarā) refers to the (seven) 'great lakes,' which he holds to comprise the Kannamunda, Rathakāra, Anotatta, Sihappapāta, Tiyaggala, Muchalinda and Kuṇāladaha.19
By the expression precipices (papātā) he means the (seven) 'great precipices,' and by the expression hundreds of precipices (papātasatāni), the (seven) hundreds of small precipices.
By the expression dreams (supinā) he means the (seven) 'great dreams' only; and by the expression hundreds of dreams (supina-satāni) he means the (seven) hundreds of small dreams.20
The term great period (mahākappa) is taken in its ordinary meaning. This period he holds to be equal to the time consumed in completely draining a 'great lake'21 seven times, by removing from it, by means of
18. See the description of such a 'gigantic' pisacha in Lecture II, §§ 94, 95. The text reads satta ti (Skr. sattvāni iti 'beings'), but it should probably be sattâti (i.e., satta ti, Skr. sapta iti 'seven'), as shown by the corresponding passage in Rokhill's Life of the Buddha, p. 103.
19. The corresponding passage in Rokhill (Life of the Buddha, p. 103) mentions the number seven of the lakes, but does not name them. A clause that here follows is omitted, as I do not understand the expression pachuță or its variants. May ganthika be a synonym of gandika in the sense of 'hill,' or 'declivity'? see the Petersburg Dictionary. The corresponding passage in Rokhill (ibid., p. 103) offers two different clauses which are themselves doubtful "seven (kinds of) writing (?)" or "seven proofs (?)".
20. I have added 'seven' in this as well as in the preceding clause on the authority
of the corresponding passage in Rokhill (Life of the Buddha, pp. 103, 104), which speaks of "7 or 700 dreams" and "7 or 700 kinds of precipices." 21. From the general connection in which the expression 'great lake' here occurs, it seems evident that Buddhaghosa intended it to refer to the seven 'great lakes' mentioned in one of the preceding paragraphs. This, however, is a misunderstanding, as can be clearly seen from the Jain account of the same subject. In the Bhagavati (Calc. ed.), pp. 1238, 1239 (transl. in Rokhill, Life of the Buddha, pp. 253, 254) the measure of a mahākappa is thus explained: The river Ganga is 500 yojanas in length 1⁄2 yojana in breadth and 500 dhanu in depth; there is altogether a series of seven Ganga rivers, each succeeding having seven times the dimensions of the preceding; the last of the series, accordingly, is equal to 117, 649 (or 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7) Ganga rivers; if now every hundred years one grain of sand be removed, then the time required to exhaust the whole of the sand of those 117,649 Gangas would be one sara period; and 300,000 of such sara periods make one mahākappa period; and 8,400,000 of the mahākappas make one mahāmāṇasa period.'