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STUDIES IN JAINISM
some souls which have the capacity to save the worldly being from the clutches of the Karmas. An assumption such as this is based on the experience of the followers on seeing a person like Mahāvira or Buddha in this world before them and also seeing that some of his followers, though quite pure as preachers, have no interest in preaching their own ideas to the people. Thus the theory of Tirthankarsas or the Buddha is developed and then the mythology is created around this idea. The Jaina mythology conceives that there are 24 such Tirthankars and no more. Here the question of number is interesting but when we see the
aneity of the theory of Avatāras or the incarnations of God, the Tirthankaras and the Buddha, there remains no doubt that number is the result of the mutual influences. Theory of Tirthankaras is connected with mythology regarding the frame of the whole world (loka) and also with the mythology of time cycle. It is difficult to decide whether the Mythology of the frame of the Loka or that of time cycle was developed first. But probably the mythology of Loka preceded that of the time-cycle because such is also the case with other Hindu and Buddhist ideas about the Loka, while time cycle mythology of the Jainas has some special features. According to the Jaina mythology Loka is situated in the centre of the whole Akāśa (space). The centre of the whole Loka is the mount Meru and that is surrounded by Jambudv.pa which in turn is surrounded by the sea Lavaņa. This Lavaņa sea is surrounded by the Dhā taki dvipa which is surrounded by the sea kālodadhi. This Kālodadhi is surrounded by the Puşkaravaradvipa which in turn is surrounded by the sea Puşkarodadhi and in this way there are innumerable dvp.as and seas surrounding each other and ending with svayambhū ramana Samudra. But the human population is found only upto the part of the Puşkara varadv. pa. So the mythology of the Tirthankaras has to deal with the area only upto the Puşkaravaradvīpa. The Jambudvipa is divided in seven countries (Vārşas or Kșetras or vasyas or vaisas And these countries are delimited by six mountains which are designated as var sadharas. The countries beginning from extreme south are (1) Bhārata (2) Haimāvata (3) Hari (4) Videha (5) Ramyaka (6) Hairanyāvata and (7) Airāvata. But of these seven only in nos, 1, 4 and 7 there is possibility of the birth of the Tirthankaras and even
these three nos. 1 and 7 have possibility of full cycle of time of avasarpiņi and utsarpriņi. The no. 4 Mahāvideha is always
