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particularly for the Munis. The subtleness and the extreme of what we find in the observance of non-violence (Ahimsa) in Jainism have their roots in the idea of Şad-Jivānikāya. If we regard earth etc., under the category of living beings it is but natural to abstain from being violent to them.
The conception of Şadjivānikāya in Jainism is the oldest one. It is accepted as such from its origin to date. It is difficult to say that it has undergone any fundamental change from the third century to the tenth, except that some important issues regarding their classification have been raised and some detailed information about their body, their way of taking food, their language, their classes, sub-classes, etc., depicted in the Prajñāpanā and Jivābhigama.
According to Pt. Dalsukhabhai Malvania there is a description in the second chapter of the Sūtrakrtānga known as Aharaparijñā regarding the Yonis in which Jivas take their birth and the way in which they take their food etc. A type of Jivas is called Anusyuta there. From this we can conclude that the idea of Anantakāya (infinite Jiva in one body) and Pratyeka-Kāya (one Jiva in one body) came into existence in the third-fourth century. The decision as to which of the creatures (Jivas) are to be included in the two-three or the four-sensed Jiva respectively is also finalized afterwards. In the Bhagavati, it takes the form of Jiva-Ajiva division. However, the concept had fully developed by the time of the Prajñāpana because there we have detailed discussions on Indriya, Ahara Paryapti, etc.
After the third century, an important change occurred in the classification of the mobile and immobile being (Trasa and
Jainism and its History
