________________ Verse 170 EXPLANATORY NOTE The worthy ascetic (sramana, muni) is equipped with great restraint (samyama) and observes excellent austerities (tapa), external and internal. However, when, due to lack of extraordinary strength of the body, he is not able to stay in the soul-nature (atmasvabhava) for long, he gets inclined toward the Scripture (agama) that expounds the nine objects (padartha) and contains the life-stories of exalted souls of the Tirtharkara, and other personages (salaka purusa). Due to great restraint (samyama) and excellent austerities (tapa) he certainly breaks himself away from the cycle of transmigration, but not being in possession of the body with extraordinary strength he is not able to annihilate all karmas in this life itself. He is reborn as a heavenlybeing (vaimanika deva) with great splendour and divine accomplishments (rddhi). Not swayed by this great splendour, he spends time in attending the majestic-pavilions (samavasarana) of the existing Tirthankara in the five Videha regions, and makes obeisance to the supremely knowledgeable 'ganadhara' devas. He does not leave the attributes of the householder (sravaka) in the fourth stage of spiritualdevelopment (gunasthana) - asamyatasamyagdrsti'. After thus spending long period of time as a celestial-being (deva) he is born again as a human being (manusya) with unimaginable splendour, like that of the king-of-kings (cakravarti). Because of the noble observations (bhavana) of his earlier incarnation as an ascetic (sramana, muni), he does not get attached to the newly-acquired splendours and, at an appropriate time, adopts the noblest of pursuits, the Jaina-ordination (jinadikna). Due to observance of the supreme meditation (samadhi), he now attains liberation (moksa). Acarya Samantabhadra's Ratnakarandaka-sravakacara: देवेन्द्रचक्रमहिमानममेयमानम् राजेन्द्रचक्रमवनीन्द्रशिरोर्चनीयम् / धर्मेन्द्रचक्रमधरीकृतसर्वलोकं लब्ध्वा शिवं च जिनभक्तिरुपैति भव्यः // 41 // . . . . . . . . . . 323
