________________
CHAPTER FOUR
mentioned in the aphorism but are worth knowing. They are (1) ucchvāsa or breath. (2) āhāra or nourishment. (3) vedanā or feeling. (4) upapāta or ability for birth. (5) anubhava or inherent loka-nature.
1. Ucchvāsa or Breath :
As the life-duration of a god increases so also increases the duration of his breath. Thus the gods with a life-duration 10,000 years have breath with a duration 7 stokas while those with a lifeduration one palyopama have one breath a day. As for the gods with life-duration measured in sāgaropamas the rule in their case is that as many sāgaropamas be one's life-duration so many fortnights is the duration of one's breath.
163
2. Āhāra or Nourishment :
As for nourishment the rule is that the gods with a lifeduration 10,000 years take it on alternate day, while those with a life-duration one palayopama take it an interval of days numbering pṛthaktva. As for the gods with life-duration measured in sāgaropamas the rule in their case is that as many sāgaropamas be one's life-duration so many thousand years constitute the interval at which one takes nourishment.
3 Vedanā or Feeling :
Generally speaking, the gods experience only a pleasant feeling. And if per chance a painful feeling does attack them it does not last longer than a period of antarmuhurta (i.e. a period measuring less than one muhurta). As for a pleasant feeling it persists in an identical form for a period of six months and then undergoes a change.
4. Upapāta or Ability for Birth :
Upapāta means ability for birth in a particular place. One
1. Prthaktva is a technical term standing for the numbers two to nine.
Jain Education International
For Personal & Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
