________________
८८
:
श्रमण/जुलाई-सितम्बर/ १९९७
STHOT
Nirgrantha Doctrine of Karma - A historical perspective (with special reference to Bhagavati).
Dr. Ashok Kumar Singh
This research paper is an extension to my earlier paper, "Prācīna Jaina Granthno mñe Karma Siddhānta kā Vikāsakrama,' dealing with Acārānga, Sūtrakṛtānga, Rṣibhāṣita, Uttarādhyayana, Sthānānga and Samaväyänga, positively, the earliest of the extant Jaina cononical texts. After these texts comes Vyakhyāprajñapti - the fifth of the Anga texts, also known as Bhagavati.
Bhagavati, in its present form, is divided into 41 satakas. Barring śataka XV all the other satakas are sub-divided into uddeśakas. The total number of satakas including the sub-satakas is 138 and that of Uddeśakas is 1925.
Karma doctrine is one of the most important phenomenon of all the systems of Indian thought. With the only exception of Carvakan, all the schools of Indian philosophy deal with Karma doctrine. Infact, the doctrine of karma was evolved to answer the cause of continuity of this world, with all its visible vividity and multiplicity. Various thinkers have thought over the immediate cause of the universe, commencing from Kala (time) and ending with Puruşa (Hiranyagarbha). Śvetāśvatara Upanisad mentions- "Kāla or Svabhäva (nature), Niyati (the settled course) or Yadṛccha (chance) or Bhūtāni (elements) or Yoni (Prakṛti) or Puruşa as the cause. Again, according to it any combination of these causes, in whichever, manner combined, does not deserve to be treated as the cause." The above views, however, could not wholly ascertain the truth. The limitations of the causes, separately as well as combined, paved the way for the evolution of Karma doctrine, which maintained that individual dissimilarities, feeling of pleasure and pain, innate Sr. Lecturer. Parshvanath Vidyapeeth,
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
