Book Title: Studies in the Bhagavati Sutra
Author(s): J C Sikdar
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

Previous | Next

Page 545
________________ 520 STUDIES IN THE BHAGAWATI SŪTRA [Ch. IX examples of the inability of ten swiftest gods to reach the end of the Universe and that of the Non-Universe with their fastest divine speed. But the uncrossed space of the Universe and that of the Non-Universe of those gods are much more than their Crossed space of the Universe and that of the Non-Universe.? Thus the Universe is stated to be very spacious ; in the east it is countless Kotikoți yojanas (crores & crores of leagues); in the west it is countless, etc., likewise it is in the south and the north : thus with regard to the upper and lower regions also it is countless crores of leagues in length and breadth." In this extensive Universe there is no part, having the size of an atom, where this soul (or being) was not born nor died from the point of view of the state of eternality of the Universe, its beginningless state, the eternality of Jiva (soul), manifoldness of Karma, and many births and deaths. . It is explained by a familiar analogy of one large enclosure and one hundred he-goats, kept therein by some man that as within six months every part of that enclosure, having the size of an atom, becomes touched with the excrement, or urine, or phlegm, or mucus of nose, or vomit, or bilious humour, or pus, or semen, or blood, or skin, or hairs, or hoofs, or nails of those he-goats, just like that in every part of the Universe having the dimension of an atom, the soul was born and died." Existence of Beings in the Universe All beings from the one-sensed being upto the quasi-sensed beings (anindriya) exist in the part of Space of the Universe without causing any trouble to one another like the female dancer and spectators witnessing the performance of dance-drama by her in a theatre hall. As she or they cannot cause any pain, or trouble, or injury, or dismemberment of the body of one another with their respective looks, so the beings exist in one part of Space of the Universe without binding, touching and causing pain to one another." 1 Bhs, 11, 10, 421. 8 Ib, 12, 7, 457. · 10, 12, 7, 457, • 16, 11, 10, 422. Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686