________________
THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION
OF,
PRAVACANASĀRA
Book I.
1. Here I pay obeisance to Vardhamāna, the saviour, the promulgator of the law, who is saluted by the Suras, Asuras and lords of men, and who has washed off the dirt of destructive Karmas.1
2. (I pay obeisance) also to the remaining Tirtharkaras (i.e., the promulgators of the creed) along with all Siddhas (i.e., the liberated souls) whose nature is pure and to the Sramaņas (i.e., the saints) whose behaviour is characterised by knowledge, faith, conduct, penance and energy.
3. I pay obeisance to them collectively as well as individually and to the contemporary Arahantas in the Mānusa region.
4-5. .After saluting Arahantas (i.e., Tirthankaras), Siddhas also Ganadharas (i.e. the direct disciples of Tirtharkaras), the band of preceptors and all the saints, and after having taken the life (i.e. a state of life, asrama) of foremost knowledge and faith of pure nature, I adopt equanimity whereby Nirvāņa is attained.
In these foot-notes P. stands for Pañcâstikaya of Kundakunda and TS. for Tattvärtha-sútras of Umāsvāti as commented upon by Pujyapäda.
1. The passional vibrations etc. subject a soul to the influx of Karma which is of the nature of subtle matter. According to its fruit the Karma is divided into eight basic types: 1. Jņānā varaniya-k., knowledge-obscuring-k.. which obscures the knowledge of the soul; 2. Darsanāvaraniya-k., conation-obscuring-k., which obscures the conative faculty of the soul; 3. Vedaniya-k., feeling-k., which gives rise to, determines and regulates the feelings of pleasure and pain; 4. Mohanīya-k., deludingk., which deludes the faith and conduct of the soul; 5. Ayuş-k., age-k., which determines the age in a particular embodiment; 6. Nama-k., body-making-k.. which organises the various physical- features of the embodied being; 7. Gotra-k., familydetermining-k., which determines the high or low family of the individual, and 8. Antarāya-k., obstructive-k., which hinders the happy disposition of the soul. These eight are divided into two groups: Ghati-k., destructive-k., and Aghati-k., non-destructive-k., according as they crush or not the natural attributes of the soul. The first, second, fourth and the last constitute Ghāti-k., and the remaining are Aghāti-k. These eight basic types (mülaprakrti) are further divided into 148 subtypes (uttara-prakrti) and so forth, each basic type dividing itself into various subtypes. TS. VIII.
2. At present there are no Tirthankaras in our region after Mahavira, who attained liberation in 527 B. C.; but there are Tirthankaras, according to the Jaina tradition, in the five videha-countries of the Manuşa-køetra i.e., the first two islands and a half of the Jaina geography, TS. III.
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