Studies in Jainism

Author(s): Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture Culcutta
Publisher: Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture Culcutta

Page 136

ETHICO-RELIGIOUS CLASSIFICATIONS
It may be remarked that samyaktva and abhigṛhitamithyātva, too, are not within the reach of each and every human being. They are as it were the sole properties of the Sanjnis or those whose mind is fairly developed. Thus the human beings known as Asañjnis and having practically no brain are under the influence of anabhigṛhīta mithyātva. They are the persons, who, in virtue of their manner of being born, are debarred from possessing samyaktva. To elucidate this point, it may be mentioned that Jainism admits of three types of birth21 viz. (1) sammūrcchana,22 (2) garbha and (3) upapāta. Out of them only the first two types are possible for the human beings.23 So they can be classified as (a) garbhaja and (b) sammurcchanaja. The latter are said to be born in 14 dirty things such as excreto, urine etc., and their life-span never exceeds 48 minutes.
It may be observed that in the case of a human being, it is the gotra-karman which determines the family where one can be born. This karman is of two kinds : (a) high and (b) low.24 On this basis, human beings are divided in Jainism into two classes: (i) born in a high family and (ii) born in a low family.
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In this connection it may be stated that the Jainas consider the Ksatriyas as the best class of men; for, they assign to them even a higher place than what is generally assigned to the Brāhmaṇas. This will be clear, if one were to refer to Kalpasūtra where several ucca and nica kulas are mentioned.25
From this it can be safely inferred that Jainism draws a
21. Birth as well as its varieties have been beautifully explained in Sanskrit by Siddhasena Gani. See pt. I, pp. 189-190. This subject has been briefly treated in English in G.O.S. (No. LI, p. 21).
22. This is translated as "generatio acquivoca" in S.B.E. (vol. XEV, p. 224).
23. See Uttaradhyayanasutra (ch. xxxvi, v. 194).
24. See Uttarādhyayanasūtra (xxiii, 14). There each of these types of gotra-karman is pointed out as having eight varieties. Bhāvavijaya observes in his commentary to this work that these are due to the causes of bondage connected with pride pertaining to jāti, kula etc. See the bhāṣya of Tattvartha (ix. 6). 25. For the English translation see S.B.E. (vol. xxii, p. 225).