Rushibhashit Sutra

Author(s): Vinaysagar, Sagarmal Jain, Kalanath Shastri, Dineshchandra Sharma
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 176

doubts. Although Schubring in his notes and Manohar Muni in his explanations have done efforts to clarify the meanings, they have also accepted that the subject in the chapter is not clear.
In my view some particular words will have to be understood in order to elaborate the subject of this chapter. The three words that require an elaborate explanation are 'Sata-dukkha', 'AsataDukkha' and 'Santam', As far as 'Sata-dukkha' is concerned, everyone including the Sanskrit commentator, has accepted that it means woe (dukkha) born out of pleasure (sukha). Here sukha should mean the desire for pleasure. So the meaning of Satadukkha is the woe born out of the desire for pleasure. A person who has craving for mundane pleasures can be termed as the one plagued with Sata-dukkha. In other words the craving for pleasure itself is Sata-dukkha.
Asata-dukkha is opposite of this, that is the suffering which naturally comes because of being desireless. With this meaning of Sata-dukkha the answer to the first question of the chapter becomes clear. The question is who attracts dukkha (affliction, which here means the bondage of Karma); the one who is plagued with woes born out of the desire for worldly pleasures, or he who suffers sorrows desirelessly. The answer is : He who is mad after the lust for worldly pleasures attracts affliction. One who remains desireless, even inspite of being surrounded with natural sufferings does not attract afflictions or does not enter into bondage of Karma. In fact, the desire for pleasure is the invitation to woe. A person who suffers because of desire for pleasure ends up in the bondage of Karma. He who suffers due to painful circumstances does not attract Karma bondage. Thus Madhurayana finds the roots of afflictions in the mundane desires.
The word Santam does not mean peaceful (Shant) here; it has been used to mean existence. 'Santam dukkhi' here means being woeful. And being woeful here only means to be full of desires. Thus the meaning of 'Santam dukkhi dukkham udeerei’ would be that by being woeful alone afflictions are invited. That means only a person with desires triggers woes. Similarly, 'No, asantam dukkhi dukkham uderai’. means that by not being
Rishibhashit : A Study 175