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...
Part 7 - On minute water-bodies
Q. 228. Bhante! Do minute water-bodies always fall in a measured quantity?
A. 228. Yes, Gautama, they do143.
Q. 229. Bhante! Do they fall up, fall down or fall obliquely?
A. 229. Gautama! They fall up, also down, also obliquely.
Q. 230. Bhante! Do these too, like gross water-bodies, live together, and that for a very long time?
A. 230. Not necessarily so. They soon attain their end.
Bhante! So they are. Glory be to the Lord! So saying Gautama withdrew and resumed his place.
Chapter six ends.
Notes (based on commentary of Abhayadeva Sūri):
143. The consideration is about minute particles of water like mist, dew, etc., which, unlike the bigger drops, are incessantly falling and falling everywhere. During the day, when the sun is hot, they disappear even before coming anywhere near the earth, but not so at night or in the early hours of the morning when they get deposited on the earth and are visible even to the naked eye.