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The seeker who is capable of walking on this path of straightforwardness is known as 'Maargaabhimukha'.
The seeker who has already commenced the suppression and annihilation of karmas that brings about this straightforwardness is known as 'Maargapatita'.
When the suppression and annihilation of karmas is about to reach its acme - charama yathaapravrittikarana - the seeker is said to be 'Maargaanusaarii'.
The 'Dharmasangraha' text describes the progress of the soul in the charmaavarta kaala stage who is in the first gunsthaanaka as under:
1. Apunarbandhaka: A soul which shall never again bind delusion causing karmas of the duration
of 70 krodaakrodii saagaropama years 2. Maargaabhimukha: A soul which is on the abovementioned path of karmic suppression and
annihilation 3. Maargapatita: A soul which is on the abovementioned path of karmic suppression and
annihilation and has made further progress 4. Maargaanusaarii: A soul whose annihilation and suppression of karmas is about to reach its acme
- charama yathaapravrittikarana
These are the four stages of the first gunsthaanaka.
Mataantara (different view): One view is that the maargaabhimukha and maargapatita stages of the soul are attained only after the apunarbandhaka level has been reached. This view has been adumbrated in the commentary to fifth aphorism of Aachaarya Haribhadra's Panchasuutra'. In his commentary on 253rd verse of the 'Upadeshapada', Aachaarya Municandra has supported this opinon.
The alternative view is that the maargaabhimukha and maargapatita stages of the soul may be attained before the apunarbandhaka level has been reached. An anonymous commentator mentions this view on verse 179 of Aachaarya Haribhadra's Yogabindu'. But the commentator has also refuted this view. In the 3rd verse of the third chapter of the Panchashaka' this alternative view has been supported.
In the second third and fourth verses of the 14th Dvatrimshika of his ‘Dvatrimshad Dvatrimshika', Upadhyaya Yashovijaya has accepted both points of view and connected them by stating that the maargabhimukha and the maargapatita stages are considered to have been attained before the soul attains the level of apunarbandhaka in order to differentiate them from the level of apunarbandhaka. Hence, in Upadhyaya Yashovijaya's opinion these stages come in the category
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