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Śramaņa, Vol 55, No. 1-6/January-June 2004
Bhagvān Rşabha's Time -
When we talk of Lord Rsabha's time we cannot escape the consideration of Jaina concept of time, which is, to say the least, mind boggling. According to Jaina mythology the infinite time is divided into infinite time cycles of twenty Kota-koti Sāgaropamas each, which are, in turn, sub-divided into two equal halves - each of ten Kota-koti Sägaropamas and known as ascendant (Utsarpiņi) and descendent (Avasarpini) phases (kāla). Each of these phases, yet again, consists of six periods (Ārā) of varying duration. In the ascendant phase the period of intense misery is followed by that of misery, misery mixed with pleasure, pleasure mixed with pain, pleasure and then intense pleasure. In the descendent phase the order reverses itself and the first period of intense pleasure yields to the sixth period of intense pain. Presently we are in the fifth - Pain-period (Dukhamå Ārā) of the descendent phase of the time-cycle called Hundā. Again, according to well-recorded Jaina belief the end of the descendent phase of each time cycle is marked by a natural calamity of immense proportion when the climate becomes very hot and inhospitable and the human-beings are reduced io mites of cubit sizes and their civilisation is temporarily suspended only to be revived at the opportune time. They live in burrows and survive only by coming out at nights and eating fish and other creatures that, too, come out at night and even by cannibalisation. During the following ascendant phase the times change for the better and in the first period, the earth cools down sufficiently and the climate becomes more hospitable for the burrow-dwelling mites to come out of their holes and live in the open again. With better times they also start growing in size but still live off the land depending on their surroundings and getting sustenance form the trees. In the third period the first Prophet Propounder (Tirtharkara) leads them to the life of endeavour and so on and so forth. Similar happenings have been occurring for infinite timecycles in the past and they repeat themselves, ad infinitum, time-cycle after time-cycle.
Lord Rsabha was born in the third period of this descendent phase of this time cycle some forty thousand years less than one Kota-koti Sāgaropama from now and lived a long life of eighty-four hundred thousand Pūrvas.
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