Thirty-Third Lecture. The Nature of Karman

Jaina Sutras, Part II (SBE45), tr. by Hermann Jacobi, [1895], at sacred-texts.com

THIRTY-THIRD LECTURE.

THE NATURE OF KARMAN.

I shall now in due order explain the eight kinds of Karman, bound by which the soul turns round and round in the Circle of Births. (1)

The eight kinds of Karman are briefly the following:

1. Gñânâvaranîya (which acts as an obstruction to right knowledge);

2. Darsanâvaranîya (which acts as an obstruction to right faith);

3. Vêdanîya (which leads to experiencing pain or pleasure);

4. Môhanîya (which leads to delusion);

5. Âyuhkarman (which determines the length of life);

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6. Nâman (which determines the name or individuality of the embodied soul);

7. Gôtra (which determines his Gôtra);

8. Antarâya (which prevents one's entrance on the path that leads to eternal bliss ¹). (2, 3)

1. Obstruction of knowledge is fivefold (viz. obstruction to):

a. Sruta, knowledge derived from the sacred books;

b. Âbhinibôdhika, perception;

c. Avadhigñâna, supernatural knowledge;

d. Manahparyâya, knowledge of the thoughts of other people;

e. Kêvala, the highest, unlimited knowledge. (4)

2. The nine kinds of obstruction to right faith are: 1. sleep; 2. activity; 3. very deep sleep; 4. a high degree of activity ²; 5. a state of deep-rooted greed; 6-9 refer to faith in the objects of the first three and the last kinds of knowledge. (5, 6)

3. Vêdanîya is twofold, pleasure and pain; there are many subdivisions of pleasure and so there are of pain also. (7)

4. Môhanîya is twofold as referring to faith and to conduct; the first is threefold, the second twofold. (8)

The three kinds of Môhanîya referring to faith are: 1. right faith; 2. wrong faith; 3. faith partly right and partly wrong. (9)

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The two kinds of Môhanîya referring to conduct are: 1. what is experienced in the form of the four cardinal passions; 2. what is experienced in the form of feelings different from them. (10)

The first kind of this Karman is sixteenfold, the second sevenfold or ninefold ¹. (11)

5. Âyushka is fourfold as referring to 1. denizens of hell; 2. brute creation; 3. men; 4. gods. (12)

6. Nâman is twofold, good and bad; there are many subdivisions of the good variety, and so there are of the bad one also ². (13)

7. Gôtra is twofold, high and low; the first is eightfold, and so is the second also. (14)

8. Antarâya is fivefold as preventing: 1. gifts; 2. profit; 3. momentary enjoyment; 4. continuous enjoyment ³; and 5. power. (15)

Thus the division of Karman and the subdivisions have been told.

Now hear their number of atoms ⁴, place, time, and development. (16)

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The number of atoms of every Karman is infinite; it is (infinitely) greater than (the number) of fettered ¹ souls, but less than that of the perfected ones. (17)

The Karman in the six directions of space ² binds all souls, and it binds the whole soul in all its parts in every possible way. (18)

The longest duration (of Karman) is thirty Krores of Krores of Sâgarôpamâs ³, and the shortest a part of a muhûrta. (19)

This holds good with both Âvaranîyas, with Vêdanîya and Antarâya. (20)

The longest duration of Môhanîya is seventy Krores of Krores of Sâgarôpamâs, and the shortest a part of a muhûrta. (21)

The longest duration of Âyushka is thirty-three Krores of Krores of Sâgarôpamâs, and the shortest a part of a muhûrta. (22)

The longest duration of Nâman and Gôtra is twenty Krores of Krores of Sâgarôpamâs, and the shortest eight muhûrtas. (23)

The number of perfected souls is infinite, and that

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of the subdivisions of Karman ¹ is also (infinite); the number of atoms in all these (subdivisions) exceeds (the number) of all souls. (24)

Therefore a wise man should know the different subdivisions of these Karmans, and should exert himself to prevent and to destroy them. (25)

Thus I say.

Footnotes

193:1 Compare Bhandarkar, Report, p. 93, note *.

193:2 Nos. 1-4 are nidrâ, prakalâ, nidrânidrâ, prakalâprakalâ; I render the etymological meaning of these words. According to the Dîpikâ, however, they have a different meaning: nidrâ means the state of agreeable waking; prakalâ, the slumber of a standing or sitting person; nidrânidrâ, deep sleep; prakalâprakalâ, sleep of a person in motion. Nos. 6 and 7 are here called kakkhu and akakkhu, instead of âbhinibôdhika and sruta.

194:1 The divisions of the second Karman are the feelings or emotions enumerated in the 102nd verse of the last lecture, from disgust onward. There are seven of them, if desire for women, men, or both, is reckoned as one item, but nine, if it is reckoned as three. The sixteen divisions of the Karman produced by the cardinal passions are arrived at by subdividing each of the four passions with reference to 1. anantânubandha; 2. pratyâkhyâna; 3. apratyâkhyâna; 4. samgvalana.

194:2 In the Dîpikâ 103 subdivisions are enumerated; they correspond to our genera.

194:3 3. Bhôga, 4. upabhôga; bhôga is enjoyment of flowers, food, &c.; upabhôga, that of one's house, wife, &c. The Karman in question brings about an obstruction to the enjoyment, &c., though all other circumstances be favourable.

194:4 The Karman is considered to consist, like other substances, of atoms, here called pradêsa point. The word I have translated p. 195 number of atoms is paêsaggam = pradêsâgram, which is rendered paramânuparimâna.

195:1 Ganthiyasatta = granthigasattva.

195:2 The six directions of space are the four cardinal points, zenith and nadir. The commentators quote scripture that êkêndriyas, or beings with one organ of sense, are bound by Karman in three and more directions. The true meaning of this statement is beyond my grasp.--The Dîpikâ explains how Karman acts on the soul. The soul absorbs all material particles of a suitable nature (especially the karmapudgalas) with which it comes into contact, i.e. all that are in the same space with the soul, and assimilates them in the form of gñânâvaranîya, &c., just as fire consumes everything within its reach, but nothing beyond it.

195:3 I.e. 3,000,000,000,000,000 Sâgarôpamâs.

196:1 Anubhâga, explained karmarasavisêsha.