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11. THE ANUPREKSĀS AND JĀINA RELIGIOUS POETRY
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The Anuprekşās have other aspects as well. In Tattvārthasutra 9. 2 they are mentioned among the agencies that cause Saṁvara or stoppage of the influx of Karmas, the others being Gupti, Samiti, Dharma etc. The Anuprekşās are also brought into special connection with Dharmya-dhyāna, one of the two forms of spiritual contemplation prescribed by Jaina doctrine, In a number of verses quoted by Siddhasena in his commentary on Tattvārthasūtra 9. 38 the Anuprekşās are prominently, mentioned among the preliminaries to Dharmya-dhyāna. According to Subhacandra (Jñānārnava 41. 3) the Anuprekşās are the leading cause of Dharmya-dhyāna, and the devotee is asked to determine the nature of the Self by implanting them in his mind.' Sivārya in his Bhagavati Ārādhana (verse 1714) goes one step further, and definitely recommends the contemplation of the Anuprekşās as a sort supplementary discipline in the stage of Dharmya-dhyāna known as Samsthānavicaya, consisting in meditation on the constitution of the universe according to the Jaina conception. A similar yet different standpoint is met with in Cāmundarāya's Cäritrasāra. It mentions two kinds of Dharmyadhyāna,bāhya and ūdhyātmika, and classifies the latter into ten varieties including Samsthānavicaya, which is, however, explained as investigation of things as they are' (yathāvasthitamīmāṁsā) and completely identified with the twelve Anupreksäs.
The Anuprekşās are thus viewed from different standpoints, but their wider aspect can hardly be mistaken. They are in the nature of reflections on the fundamental facts of life, and remind the devotee of the teachings of the Master on the subject of rebirth, Karma and its destruction. equanimity and self-control, the glory of the Law and the final goal. They are no doubt designed to develop the contemplative faculty of the Yogin, and may be called the starting point of dhyānu. But they have also a great moral significance inasmuch as they are meant to develop purity of thoughts and sincerity in the practice of religion. Kundakunda, for instance, in his Bhävaprābhrta (verse 94 exhorts the devotee to contemplate the Anupreksās and the twenty five Bhāvanäs, and asks: what is the use of external symbols without inner conviction? The catholic character of the Anupreksās is shown by the fact that they are recommended to monks and laymen alike for contemplation (Maranasamähi, v. 571). In our work king Yaśorgha ponders on them on the eve of his abdication and retirement from the world, Somaprabha tells us in his Kumārapālapratibodha that Kumārapāla, after
1 Vol. II, P. 272. 2 अनुप्रेक्षाश्च धर्म्यस्य स्युः सदैव निबन्धनम् । चित्तभूमौ स्थिरीकृत्य स्वखरूपं निरूपय ॥ 3 अह तिरियउडलोए विचिणादि सपज्जए ससंठाणे । इच्चेव अणुगदाओ अणुपेहाओ वि विचिणादि । 4 भाव हि अणुवेक्खाओ अवरे पणवीसभावणा भावि । भावरहिएण किं पुण बाहिरलिंगेण कायव्वं ।।
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