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Sec. I]
STUDIES IN THE BHAGAWATI SUTRA
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Centres of the Universe
Having gone deep into the innumerable parts of the Space of Ratnaprabhāp?thivi—here comes the centre of the Universe. After having crossed a little more than the half of the intervening space of the fourth infernal world Parka prabhā, here is stated to be the centre of the lower region.
Above the Sanatkumāra-Māhendrakalpas and below the Brahmaloka-kal pa, is Ristavimāna, here lies the centre of the upper region.
In the Jambūdvīpa island, just in the middle part of the Mandāru-mountain there are above and below the Ratnaprabhāprthivi two smaller parts of elevation (or width), here is located the centre of the horizontal region called Rucaka, having eight parts, because from this point flow the ten directions—East, EastSouth' etc.
It is stated that the seven skies are not heavy, nor light, not-heavy-cum-light, but are neither heavy nor light.
Similarly the seven tanuvātas rarified air) are not heavy, not-light but heavy cum-light and not neither heavy nor light. Thus the seven ghanavātas, (thick atmosphere!, ghanodadhi (cloudy atmosphere), and the skies of the seven worlds should be known like the seven skies as neither heavy nor light." Order of the Universe (Lokasthiti)
There are eight kinds of Lokasthiti (order of the Universe), viz. (1) Ākāxapratisthitavāta (air resting on the support of space), (2) Vātapratisthita--udadhi (sea resting on the support of air), (3) U dadhipratisthita-prthivă (earth resting on the support of the sea), (4; Pithivż-pratisthita-trasa-sthāvara-prāņa (mobile and immobile beings resting on the support of the earth), (5) Ajīva-jīva pratisthita (non-living substances resting on the living substances), (6) Jiva Karmapratisthita (beings resting on the support of Karma), (7) Ajiva-jīvasaňhrīta (non-living substances collected by the beings (or souls) and (8) Jiva-Karmasanhrta (souls of beings collecting Karma-matters (i.e. souls affected by Karmas). 1 Bhs 13, 4, 479. 10, 1, 9, 73. & 1b, 1, 6, 54.
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