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Dharma-adharma
111
go beyond the boundary of loka. Its final answer was offered for the first time in the Tattvārthasūtra above in which dharma-adharma were established as the parts of pancāstikāyas.
However, the attempts to solve the similar problem seem to have been made since the considerably early Agamic stage. The Bhagavatīsūtra XVI.8.586 reads that a deva endowed with great power standing at the end of loka cannot bend or streth bis limbs in the aloka, because there is no jīva nor pudgala in the aloka, and because the motion of jīva-ajiva occurs when jīvas try to fetch pudgalas to nourish themselves. But siddhas do not require to nourish themselves, therefore there is no reason why they cannot stay in the aloka according to this logic.
Thus the concepts of dharma-adharma appear to have evolved in finding the cause of siddhas' non-intrusion into aloka. Jacobi early proposed to explain the origin of dharma-adharma in rajas-tamas of the Sankhyas.2 However, since dharma-adharma are said to mean punya-pāpa in the Bhagavatīsūtra XX.2.664, these come in conflict with concepts of rajas-tanias. Also the Sänkhya praksti consisting of tri-guņas is equivalent to pudgala of the Jainas, whereas dharma-adharma are the cosmic principles which have no relevancy to the concept of pudgala. It is thus difficult to accept his view. Then, Frauwallner hinted that dharma-adharma of the Jainas evolved under the influence of adrșța.3 His view evidently hints the point. The following is an attempt to explain how dharma-adharma came to evolve on the basis hinted at by Frauwallner in the light of the Bhagavatisūtra passages above.
At some stage, the Vaiseșikas introduced into their system of purely natural philosophical investigation of the world phenomena the doctrin of adryta or the invisible cosmic force which is said to embody itself through the work of dharma or merit and adharma or demerit, as so evinced in the existent Vaiśeșikasūtra. This doctrine of adşsta enabled the Vaišeşikas to explain away whatever causes occuring in the natural phenomena inexplainable by the known experiences. For instance, the cause of the movement of a needle incurred by magnet, the cause of the water circulation in the plants, the cause of upward motion of the fire, the cause of sideway motion of the air, the cause of the motion of atoms when they come into contact, the cause of the initial movement of the mind and so on are said due to aděşța in the Vaišeşikasūtra Chs. V-VI. At the same time, this doctrine enabled them to bring in a religio-moral basis to this purely natural philosophical system that a reward of rebirth in the heaven is gained by adrsta in consequence of dharma or the virtuous practice of the prescribed observances and in consequence of the knowledge of
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