Bhagavati-sutra (Viyaha-pannatti)

by K. C. Lalwani | 1973 | 185,989 words

The English translation of the Bhagavati-sutra which is the fifth Jaina Agama (canonical literature). It is a large encyclopedic work in the form of a dialogue where Mahavira replies to various question. The present form of the Sutra dates to the fifth century A.D. Abhayadeva Suri wrote a vritti (commentary) on the Bhagavati in A.D. 1071. In his J...

Translator’s foreword (Volume 1)

Tīrthaṅkara’s words can be understood by one who is himself a master of supreme knowledge. As the Bhagavatī Sūtra contains words that have been attributed to Śramaṇa Bhagavān Mahāvīra, the 24th and last Tīrthaṅkara of the Jainas, and preserved (recorded much later) by a line of spiritual teachers and monks starting with the great Sudharma who is accredited with its authorship, the implication of these words has not only been difficult to understand, but still more so to recommunicate through the medium of an alien tongue by one who claims no expertise for the job, and who, even otherwise, is no more than an ordinary human being. And yet the task has been necessary, since, of late, some studies based on portions of this Sūtra have started appearing, but, in view of their restricted scope, they focus attention to only a fraction of this great work, and may be misleading or misunderstood unless the whole work which, apart from depicting the life of Mahāvīra and his relationship with some of his predecessors and contemporaries, contains a lot in the form of Sādhana, Caritra, Siddhānta, Anya-tīrthika, Vijñāna, Itihāsa, Darśana, Gaṇita, Kutūhala, Deva, Nāraka, Anya-jīva, etc., etc., is presented through a convenient medium. This is the principal justification for this effort. The task has been undertaken in all humility in the fervent hope that, despite its many limitations and shortcomings which are perhaps inevitable in a single-handed work of this magnitude, this English version may open a new window on an encyclopaedia of the very best in Jaina scholarship, whose name has been known to many, though not many have really been attracted to it on account of an insurmountable linguistic barrier.

The Bhagavatī Sūtra has been a colossal work, bigger in size than all the remaining Jaina Āgamas taken together. Scholars have expressed diverse opinions about it. According to B. C. Law, the Bhagavatī Sūtra is a “Jaina canonical mosaic of various texts”. Winternitz has described it as “a motley mixture of ancient doctrines and traditions with numerous later.additions”. W. Schubring has compartmentalised the whole Sūtra into several groups of ‘uniform content’. These may be very important scholastic issues and are matters of opinion. For the purpose of present translation, however, the Sūtra has been taken in its entirety, and the translator has, at no stage, allowed himself to be swayed or swerved by scholastic opinions. The main job being to present the text through English medium, his supreme concern has been to accomplish this task, not even disturbing the form in which the Sūtra exists in the original Ardha-Māgadhi so far as possible, so that the reader may enjoy the spirit of the original through this English version. The reader is advised to wend through the text in this spirit and judge to what extent the work has been effective.

The Bhagavatī Sūtra contains 41 Śatakas, each comprising of 10 Uddeśakas, which for the present work have been called Books and Chapters respectively. The text, according to Law, follows “the uddesa and niddesa methods, the first implying the presentation of thesis and the second their elucidation.” A Śataka starts with a couplet which gives in a precise form the contents of the 10 Chapters following, takes note of the time, place and occasion of the dialogue/discourse, mentions personalities taking part in it, and points to their inner cohesion, so that, it would appear, a single thread runs not only through the Uddeśakas making a Śataka, but also through the Śatakas themselves. Śramaṇa Bhagavān Mahāvīra apart, the most dominant personality in the Sūtra is Indrabhūti Gautama, the first Gaṇadhara of the Śramaṇa Bhagavān, a profound scholar and master of four types of knowledge. Indrabhūti asks questions in all humility and curiosity, while the Śramaṇa Bhagavān provides answers with extreme patience, affectionately addressing his dear disciple on each occasion as ‘Goyama’. At times, other personalities have been brought in, for instance, Ārya Roha, Kālāsavesiyaputra who was a follower of Pārśva, the lay-followers at Tuṅgikā, the celebrated Skandaka, in the present volume, and these have provided the much needed relief to the reader.

The standpoint of Jainism as presented in the Bhagavatī Sūtra is in no way different from that presented in other Āgamas. The fundamental principle of Jainism is ahī nsā [ahiṃsā], and to get into its true spirit, one must have a complete understanding of the karma theory which has been discussed at length in it. Among the traditional scholars, the Jainas are credited with having taken a hylozoistic view of nature which means that there is nothing formed in the world of matter, that nothing exists in space and time, which is not some form of a living organism. And it takes us further to believe, as has been done by Darwin for contemporary science, that all these organisms are in a process of development or evolution in their physical structures, modes of generation, intake of food and drink, deportments, behaviour, action, thought, ideas, knowledge, intelligence and the like. The Jaina belief in the multiplicity of souls each one of which is endowed with a consciousness and is the master of his own actions, pious as well as impious, karma-acquiring as well as karma-exhausting, is unique in the sense that the soul has been accredited with, and recognised as, an active principle, and is not merely passive, as is presumed in some other Indian systems. Another unique thing about the Jaina belief is that in it, even though soul and matter transform and undergo change due to change in circumstances, both have an eternality because of which any idea of original creation or destruction is rendered completely nugatory. The Jaina system necessitates a careful consideration of the cosmical, biological, embryological, physical, mental and moral positions of the soul in all parts of the Sphere. This has been done in the Bhagavatī Sūtra in an exhaustive manner.

The translation of the work has been a surprisingly pleasant experience for the translator. Three things that have, in particular, impressed him are its methodology, its terminology, and its illustrations. Its methodology is scientific in so far as the term would convey anything in ancient times. Illustrations of most difficult concepts have been taken from most commonplace things. For instance, the cohesion of soul and matter is illustrated by the example of a leaky boat which is submerged at the bottom of water. When laboratory tests were unknown, such commonplace examples made even the most difficult concepts easy for understanding. The Bhagavatī Sūtra is rich in terminology a good part of which may be useful in the production of scientific treatises in the Indian languages.

The Bhagavatī Sūtra has a philosophical content of a high degree but it has also many anticipations of modern science. To note one or two, there is a complete anticipation of the atomic theory in the Sūtra, as there is an exhaustive analysis of matter. There are many other things relevant to Mathematics, Physics, Cosmology, Biology, Astronomy, etc. But this rich treasure we left behind in the past and managed to forget all about it. For centuries, therefore, we did not know that we had had such a rich heritage. But thanks to the pioneering work of the western Orientalists and Indologists, Indology as a branch of knowledge has already carved a place for itself, and during the past half a century, even Jainology is striving hard to take shape. It is heartening that Jainology now attracts scholars all over the world, and important works on Jaina canonical texts are coming up very fast. But what has not happened is that we have not yet been able to pick up the thread from where we dropped it in the past and to give it a really ‘big push’. Within a short time, the world at large, and this country in particular, is going to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of the nirvana of Śramaṇa Bhagavān Mahāvīra, and that would indeed be a great occasion for us to pick up the thread from where we dropped it and go further ahead. The Bhagavatī Sūtra of the Jainas is not the only text of the kind that deals with science and philosophy. There are many others, mostly interlinked in kinship, the Paṇṇavaṇā, the Jīvābhigama, the Uvavāi, etc., which are deserving of our attention in matter of their re-presentation through a convenient medium. The present translation of the Bhagavatī Sūtra has been put up in the genuine expectation that in the next decade or so, Jaina scholarship will concentrate on translating all the important scientific works of the Jainas into English so that we, as well as scholars outside, may know where we really stand. Once we are able to take stock of our position, it may perhaps be easy for us to break our age-old stagnation.

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