________________
11. THE ANUPREKSĀS AND JAINA RELIGIOUS POETRY
315
यस्तु लब्ध्वापि जन्मेदं न धर्माय समीहते । तस्यात्मकर्मभूमीषु विज़म्भन्तां भवाङ्कराः ॥ No more of celestial joys, uneven and bitter on account of their unpleasant sequel, and spoilt by the conflagration of mental anguish!' Thus do the gods, despising celestial happiness, look forward to the day when, born as men, they will be able to say: 'We will concentrate our minds on final release!' Let the sprouts of future births shoot forth in the field of Karma of the man, who does not strive to cultivate piety, even after attaining this human existence (1. 142-3).
KARMA सुखदुःखानुभवार्थ निजकर्मगलग्रहात् सुदूरोऽपि । जालावलम्मतिमिवजन्तुर्यमसमयमायाति ॥ Like a fish caught in a net, a living being, owing to the stranglehold of ais own Karma, comes under the law of Death even froin afar, in order to experience pleasure and pain (in another birth'). Book V.
HOW MAN BECOMES LIABLE TO REBIRTH नवं वयश्चारुतरास्तरुण्यो रम्याणि हाणि शिवाः श्रियश्च । एतानि संसारतरोः फलानि स्वर्गः परोऽस्तीति मृषैव वार्ता । दोषस्त्वमीषां पुनरेक एव स्थैर्याय यत्नास्ति जगत्युपायः । तत्संभवे तत्वविदों परं स्यात खेदाय देहस्य तपःप्रयासः ॥ बालस्य मौरध्यास तपोऽधिकारो युवा तपस्येयदि तत्र दंण्डः । कुटम्बभाराधिकृतश्च मध्यो वृद्धः पुनर्वृद्धिसहाय एव । परोपरोधादयमेवमास्मा मिथ्याग्रहग्रस्तमनःप्रतानः।
स्वयं विजानमपि देवदूतैराकृष्य नीयेत भवभ्रमाय ॥ Early youth, charming young women, beautiful mansions and salutary wealth: these are the fruits of the tree of life. That there is heaven other than these is definitely untrue. But they have one defect. No means is there in the world to ensure their permanence. If that were possible, the assiduity in religious austerities of those who are conversant with the truth would merely amount to exhaustion of the body. A child is not fit for austerities owing to his ignorance, and a youth is liable to penalty if he should undertake them; while a middle-aged man is responsible for the support of his family, and an old nan just manages to subsist. Under the influence of others, a sentient being, although he knows the truth, has his mind in the grip of the demon of false belief, and is dragged along by the messengers of Fate for undergoing the cycle of births ( Book IV, P. 94).
DESIRE FOR RELIGIOUS MERIT महदपि पापं विलयति पुण्याप्तिमनोरथः सुतुच्छोऽपि । किं नाल्पो रविरेष त्रिभुवनमात्रं तमो हन्ति ॥ Even an insignificant desire for the acquisition of religious merit destroys an enormous quantity of sins. Does not the sun, though limited in extent, destroy the darkness reigning in all the three worlds? ( Book V).
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
