Scientific Secrets of Jainism

Author(s): Nandighoshvijay
Publisher: Research Institute of Scientific Secrets from Indian Oriental Scriptures Ahmedabad

Page 178

The Jain Time-Cycle And The Cosmic Calendar
year in heaven is as long as 360 years of man (human years/years on earth). All these four epoches make a Devayuga and 1000 Dēvayugas make a Brahma's day.
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The calculation of Jain doctrine and the calculation of the first chapter of the Manusmrti, shown above are both almost alike. The only difference is that the total number of years of the fourth, the fifth and the sixth ārās, counted jointly are 1 kōḍākōḍī Sāgarōpamas. The number of years of Kaliyuga is equal to 100 years of Sandhya, 1000 years of main division, and 100 years of Sandhyāmsa.
According to the Jain religion there are 63 excellent men. Their life history has been written and are available even today. Their birth-time etc. are important for Jain scriptures. Of them 24 Tirthankaras are chief. Their birth, death etc. occur at definite intervals of time. The importance is, therefore, given to their birth etc. in Jain scriptures. We shall, therefore, regard them as illustrations for the purpose of time durations of incidents in the time-cycle and with reference to the length of the body, life-span etc. of contemporary men. Out of these 24 Tirthankaras, 23 Tirthankaras were born in the last and first 1 x" Sāgarōpamas of the avsarpini and Utsarpiṇīkāla respectively, while the first Tirthankara in Avasarpiṇīkāla, and last Tirthankara in Utsarpiṇīkāla were born before and after some crore years from them.
A circle has 360 degrees, in all. The time-circle also has 360 degrees. Each degree is divided into 60 minutes. Again 1 minute is divided into 60 seconds, further second is also divided into subseconds, microseconds etc. and incidents are shown with reference to the time of their occurrence. First 180 degrees of time-cycle mention Utsarpiṇīkāla and later 180 degrees of timecycle mention Avasarpiņikāla.
00°-00-00-01"- Very difficult circumstances of life, underground residence of human beings and animals, gradually obtained slight im provement in auspi cious colour, smell, taste and expansion in life-span and construction of bone-joints (Sanghayana), fully non-vegetarian human beings. The first spoke (epoch) of time-wheel.
00°-00-00-45"-Generally miserable life, continuous rain of water, milk and nectarfor the first seven-seven days, creation of proper atmosphere, production of plant life, coming out of human beings and animals from their underground residence, human beings becoming vegetarian, end