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236
JAINA DOCTRINE OF KARMAN
[CH.
ordinary conception of number. Thus, for instance, the maximum length of duration of the knowledge-covering, the intuition-covering, the feeling-producing and the obstructive karmans is thirty sāgaropamakoţi-koți years, of the deluding karman is seventy, of the body-making and the status-determining twenty, and of longevity-determining thirtythree sägaropama years. The minimum lengths are measured in units of forty-eight minutes (muhurtas).2 As regards the measure of the intensity of fruition, the Jainas adopt a special device. The intensity of a karman is the depth of enjoyment or suffering with which the fruition of the karman is accompanied. There is infinite gradation in the depth. The intenser the fruition of an inauspicious karman, the deeper is the suffering. The intenser the fruition of an auspicious karman the deeper is the enjoyment. The infinite gradation of intensity is conceived as falling into four groups called the first degree (eka-sthānika), the second degree (dvi-sthānika), the third degree (tri-sthānika) and the fourth degree (catuḥ-sthānika) group. The intensity of fruition (anubhāga) is conceived as divisible into infinite number of indivisible parts which cannot be further divided. Each one of such indivisible parts is called 'indivisible unit' (avibhāgapaliccheda). Even the single atom of an aggregate of karmic matter (karma-skandha) possessed of the least intensity has an infinite number of such indivisible units. Let us imagine a group (varganā) consisting of such atoms as are possessed of the least intensity. Then there is another group consisting of such atoms as are possessed of one more unit of intensity (rasa-bhāga). Then there is a group consisting of such atoms as are possessed of two more intensity-units, and so on up to the group which is not followed by a group consisting of atoms with the next consecutive number of units. An infinite number of 'consecutive groups' are obtained in this way. The totality of these groups is called the first intensity-class (spardhaka). The first group of the
1 See TSü, VIII. 15-18. About the conception of sāgaropama see TSübh, IV. 15. For the conceptions of palyopama and other numbers see Karmagrantha IV, gathās 71-86 with Devendra's Commentary (Kg1, pp. 199-213).
2 See TSü, VIII. 19-21.
3 f. uktah sanklesa-visuddhi-vasád aśubha-subha-prakstīnām tivro mandas că 'nubhāgah, ayam tveka-dvi-tri-catuh-sthānika-bhedāc caturdhā bhavati Kg2, p. 64.
4 Cf. kevali-prajñayā chidyamano yah parama-nikrsto 'nubhāgāṁso 'tisūksmatayā 'rdham na dadāti so 'vibhāga-paliccheda ucyate. uktam ca:
buddhii chijjamāņo anubhāgamso na dei jo addham
avibhäga-paliccheo so iha anubhāga-bandhammi.-Kg2, p. 63.
The term rasabhāga (unit of intensity) is used as the synonym of avibhāga-paliccheda.
6 We have already stated in Chap. II (p. 63) that there is infinite gradetion of infinity, and our statenients in the present context are also to be read with this conception of infinity at their back.
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