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reason, too, some connect j vaka to P r van tha's tradition. The Samsk ta form of 'P sattha' is P r vastha'. Therefore, it does not seem appropriate to identify it with the P r van tha tradition. By the way, P sattha can mean ascetics of any tradition as it means 'to stay close to a good doctrine like knowledge etc. j vaka are P sattha as they keep three kinds of knowledge close to them. Hence, it is not right to link
į vaka Go laka to P r van tha tradition. According to facts in Jain gamas, it is more appropriate to consider him related to Mah v ra's tradition.
Religious Traditions in Mah v ra's Times
During Mah v ra's time, religious traditions were basically of four ty namely, based on Action (Kriy v d); based on non-action (Akriy v d); based on ignorance (Aj nav d); and based on modesty /veneration (vinayav d)
1.
Kriy v d: They consider an intrinsic relationship between soul and action. Their opinion is that without a doer there are no good and evil acts. They consider nine substances including soul, etc as independent existences. Their 180 sub-divisions are as follows. Nine basic elements i.e. Being / soul; non-being (nonsoul); meritorious deeds (pu ya); demeritoriuos deeds (p pa); k rmika influx ( srava); karmic binding (bandha); stoppage of karmas (samvara); dissociation from karmas (nirjar ) and, mok a (liberation). Each basic element four sub-types namely self (svatah ), by others (paratah ), eternal (nitya) and transitory (anitya) with further sub-division of each sub element with respect to time, god, soul, fate, and destiny; giving a total of 180 sub-divisions.
Akriy v d: They believe that an action cannot be meritorious (pu ya) etc because action is performed on inert/steady substance and it is destroyed the moment it is born. Due to this, there is no still / unmoving substance in this world. They do not believe in soul either. They have 84 categories as follows. Seven basic elements, namely, living beings/ non living being; k rmika influx; stopping of karmas; dissociation form karmas; binding karmas; mok a and each having seven categories; sva and para
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