Studies in the Bhagavati Sutra

Author(s): J C Sikdar
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

Page 78

Sec. IV]
STUDIES IN THE BHAGAWATI SUTRA
so he took particular care to make his sermons understandable to them by drawing on the familiar incidents occurring in their day-to-day lives. For example, as a weak decrepit old man, being struck on the head with a blow received from a very strong young man feels pain, so an earthbodied being also. getting struck experiences more pain than that'.
As the glances of spectators cannot create any trouble nor cause disease nor dismemberment of the body of a dancer performing dance-drama in a theatre hall and vice versa, so the beings existing in the Universe do not create trouble to one another.
In one passage' the separate existence of individual beings in the space of the Universe has been brought to light according to the doctrine of plurality of souls.
53
Here the object of the explanatory style in prose is to explain and interpret the fundamental principles of life which govern the occurrence of things in a purest form of scientific impersonal voiceless description in order to bring out the truth.
The author makes study of truth and reality with the purpose of attaining the absolute truth with devotion according to his scheme. He searches out and gets a line of meaning in things as satisfying his inquisitive mind. Here the style of expression is scientific, but the topic of study is philosophic dealing with the concept of beings and space of the Universe. So the voice of words spoken by him is impersonally logical with a stress laid on the facts of reality.
Legends:
The auther of the BhS has utilized many legends to present the account of the predecessors of Lord Mahāvīra and also of some contemporary monks who attained Sramanahood and liberation by practising the acts of severe austerities and meditation. In these legends the following come in the lime lightMunisuvrata, Dharmaghosa, the disciple's disciple of Vimala1,
1 Bhs, 19. 3, 654. 81b, 18, 2, 618.
2 Ib, 11, 10, 422.
4 Ib, 11, 11, 431.