Part 2 - On samudghāta

Q. 105. Bhante! When a soul departs by a māraṇāntika samudghāta, and when the said soul, having so departed is fit to be born in one of the 30,00,000 cells in the Ratnaprabhā hell as an infernal being, does this soul take food on arrival there? Does this soul transform it (food)? Does this soul take a body?

A. 105. Gautama! On reaching there, some of the souls take food, transform it and take a body, while some others, on arrival there, return, come here (to this world), and depart again by a second māraṇāntika samudghāta. And having departed thus, the said souls are born as infernal beings in one of the 30,00,000 cells of the Ratnaprabhā hell, whereafter, they take food, transform it and take a body; and like this,... till the seventh hell farthest down.

Q. 106. Bhante! When a soul departs by a māraṇāntika samudghāta, and having so departed, he is fit to be born in one of the 30,00,000 abodes of the Asurakumāras, does this soul take food on arrival there? Does this soul transform it? Does this soul take a body?

A. 106. Gautama! What has been stated about the infernal beings is to be restated,... till the Stanitakumāras.

Q. 107. Bhante! When a soul departs by a māraṇāntika samudghāta, and having so departed is fit to be born as an earth-body in one of the uncountable (number of) lakh abodes of the earth-bodies, how far does it go to the east of Mount Meru, and how much distance does it attain?

A. 107. Gautama! It goes till the end of the sphere, and attains the end of the sphere.

Q. 108. Bhante! On arriving there, does it take food? Does it transform it (the Food)? Does it take a body?

A. 108. Gautama! On arriving there, some of these take food, transform it and take a body; but some others, on arriving there, return, come back (to this earth), and depart again by a second māraṇāntika samudghāta. And having departed thus, they are born as earth-bodies in one of the uncountable (number of) lakh abodes of the earth-bodies on an immeasurable fraction of a finger, or on a measurable fraction of a finger, on a hair-tip, or on two to nine hair tips, and like this, on a likṣā, a yukā or a yava size (all fractional portions) of a finger,... till a crore (10 million) yojanas, koḍākoḍi yojanas, or till the end of the sphere minus one pradeśa of it, whereafter, these souls take food, transform it and take a body. What has been stated about the eastern side of Mount Meru will apply also to the south, to the west and to the north, up and down. What has been stated about the earth-bodies will apply to all one-organ beings—six items are to be stated for each.

Q. 109. Bhante! When a soul departs by a māraṇāntika samudghāta, and having so departed, it is fit to be born as a two-organ being in one of the uncountable (number of) lakh abodes of the two-organ beings, does the soul, etc.?

A. 109. What has been said of the infernal beings will have to be repeated for all, from two-organ beings,... till the

highest of gods.

Q. 110. Bhante! When a soul departs by a māraṇāntika samudghāta, and having so departed, it is fit to be born in one of the five anuttara vimānas, which are the highest among the high, as one of the highest gods, does this soul take food on arriving there? Does it transform the food? Does it take a body?

A. 110. As stated before,...till takes food, transforms it and takes a body.

Bhante! So they are. Glory be to the Lord. So saying, Bhagavān Gautama paid homage and obeisance to the Lord, and having done so, he withdrew to his seat.

Chapter Six ends.

Notes (based on commentary of Abhayadeva Sūri):

(There is no commentary available for this section).