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Jaina View of Life
good persons. The six Leśyās are : 1) black (krsna), 2) blue (nila), 3) dove-grey (kāpota), 4) yellow (pita), 5) pink (padma) and 6) white (sukla). For instance, a man who is wicked and cruel gets the black lesya. A man who is affected by anger and envy and who loves pleasure gets the blue lesya. One who is base and dishonest has grey. On the contrary, a welldisciplined man develops the red lesyä. One who has subdued the passions has yellow. One who is engrossed in meditation of the Dharma and truth has the white lesya. But the fully liberated souls have no lesya at all.62 The ethical or moral significance of this doctrine has been emphasized in this distinction. The Leśyās are treated as an index of temperament and character. Leśyās have a moral bearing.68 The Jainas give the example of six travellers in the forest. They see a tree full of fruits. The man with a black Leśyā intends to uproot the tree; that with a blue, to cut the trunk; that with a grey, to cut the branches; that with a yellow, to take the twigs only; the man with the pink Leśyā intends to pluck the fruits, while the one who has a pure white Leśyā is content to take whatever fruits have fallen on the ground. 64
There are degrees of expression of Leśyā in terms of time and intensity. We are told that in the case of black Leśyā the duration varies from half a muhūrta to thirty-three sāgaropamas. The effect of the blue Leśyā varies from half a Muhūrta to ten Sāgaropamas plus one Palyopama and a part of an asamkhyeya. So is the variation in the duration of other Leśyās.86 The Jainas have given a fabulous mathematical calculation of the effects and the generation of Leśyā.66 I think they were fond of such arithmetical formulations.
62. Uttarādhyayana Sūtra, Lect. XXXIV. SBE Vol. II, Footnote. 63. Radhakrishnan (S): Indian Philosophy, Vol. I, (1941), p. 320.
Footnote. 64. Gommațasära. Jivakānda. Chap. XV, pp. 507-509. 65. Uttarādhyayana Sūtra, Lect. XXXIV. 66. Gommațasāra, Jivakānda XV, and Karmakānda II, 503-505.
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