Book Title: Studies In Umasvati And His Tattvartha Sutra
Author(s): G C Tripathi, Ashokkumar Singh
Publisher: Bhogilal Laherchand Institute of Indology
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The Jaina Universe in a Profile of Cosmic Man 149 from the arunopapāta ocean, and from its end begins the black body (krsnarāji) at Brahmaloka. Since these regions are always bright due to the natural brightness of vimānas, and since the Jyotiskas brighten the middle worlds, it is difficult to fathom why the canonical authors had to postulate these dark regions in the Jaina cosmography. But a solution to this problem can be arrived at, only if we take the Jaina loka in a profile of Cosmic Man. For, then, we can suppose that tamaskāya is situated in the position of the womb with krsnarāji on top, which assumes a symbolic form of the svastika. These dark regions, then, will signify the cosmic garbha, the innermost shrine of the Jainas, in which located is Mt. Meru in the form of lingam. A plausible explanation of all this is that the then canonical authors adopted the popular lingam worship of Saiva school in order to represent Mt. Merú as a symbol of the eternal potency of Jainism. These regions are thus placed above the profane lower world.5
These texts in the Bh. above belong to the final canonical stage,when the Jaina central world view was thoroughly established. Their description of tamaskāya and krsnarāji presupposes that the Jaina loka was assumed in a profile of Cosmic Man. Then, the tunnel running (trasanādī) vertically through the center of the loka, must be suggesting itself to be the cosmic axis of the Jainas.
The structures of the three worlds and the four types of beings residing therein are described in the T.S., III-IV. Umāsvāti must have used the so called Pannatti texts for his source materials in composing these chapters. From the date offered so far above, it is very clear that the shape, size and structure of the Jaina loka had been already established by Umāsvāti's time. Therefore, the Jaina theoreticians in the later canonical stages including Umāsvāti were fully aware that the shape of their universe was made to resemble Cosmic Man. But curiously enough, they didn't dare to refer to this fact. It is likewise strange that the post-Umāsvāti authors like Haribhadra, Pūjyapāda and Akalanka
