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60
Suzuko Ohira
vavi/328/viņaittu soyam nikkhamma esa-maham akammā jāņāti, pāsati, paḍilehãe ṇāvakamkhati, iha ägatim gatim accei jātimaraṇassa vatta-maggam vikkhāyarae/329/
The idea that jivas are fully packed in all the directions, upwards, downwards and sideways makes its frequent appearance in these texts, for instance, in the Acara I. 7. 1. 402, Sūtrakṛta I. 3. 3, 244, 6.355 and 10. 474. The Acara I. 5. 6. 327-29 above obviously implies that the streams of vaira are emitted from the subtle beings in all the directions when violence is committed against them.
This srota naturally flows into the soul, which is called asrava. The word asrava occurs, for instance, in the Acara 1. 4, 2. 231-32. 'je āsavā te parissavā, je parissavā te āsavā/231/je aṇāsavā te aparissavā, je aparissavā te aṇāsava/232/'. Here parissava should mean pariśraya, meaning difficulty or trouble, as in the case of the Buddhist usage, but not nirjarâ as so understood by the later commentators, because the mechanism of karmic bondage and ejection came to be developed in the later age,5 Although the above Acara I. 4. 2. 231 is not treated in relation to srotas, its implication is unmistakable that the current of vaira flows into the sinner's soul to trouble him by giving revenge. Similar ideas are recognized in such expressions, 'dukkheņa putthe' in the Sūtrakṛta I. 7. 409, and 'arambha dukkha-phasa' in its I. 8. 417. We can thus testify that the vestages of the primitive theory of vaira are clearly stamped in the oldest strata of the Jaina canon.
This very vaira that must have been considered as something tangible came to be developed into the karma matter in the later age. Thus the Jainas postulate that karma matter flows into the soul from outside inasmuch as vaira does. Buddha considered that the srotas of kleśa flows out (asrava) of the body, but MV received the primitive view that the srota of vaira flows into (asrava) the body.
The opinions about the origin of karma theory involving the theory of transmigration are various, but it is generally accepted that it evolved from the primitive beliefs of the aborigines, which was then taken into the thought system of the Aryans. If we are allowed to be speculative, it is possible to postulate that the animist theory and the vaira theory might have also contributed for the evolution of the theories of karma and transmigration. Vaira is the principle of retribution which would not leave the assailant until due revenge is effected. It may end with the death of the assailant. Or it may cause the assailant
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