Verse 2.32 - The kinds of seats-of-birth (yoni)

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Tattvartha sūtra 2.32:

सचित्तशीतसंवृताः सेतरा मिश्राश्चैकशस्तद्योनयः ॥ २.३२ ॥

sacittaśītasaṃvṛtāḥ setarā miśrāścaikaśastadyonayaḥ || 2.32 ||

With-life (sacitta), cold (śīta), covered (saṃvṛta), their opposites–without-life (acitta), hot (uṣṇa), exposed (vivṛta)–and their combination–with-and-without-life (sacittācitta), cold-and-hot (śītoṣṇa), covered-and-exposed (saṃvṛta-vivṛta)–are the seats-of-birth (yoni). (32)

Hindi Anvayarth:

अन्वयार्थ: [सचित्त शीत संवृताः] सचित्त, शीत, संवृत [सेतरा] उससे उलटी तीन-अचित्त, उष्ण, विवृत [च एकशः मिश्राः] और क्रम से एक एक की मिली हुई तीन अर्थात् सचित्ताचित्त, शीतोष्ण और संवृतविवृत [तत् योनयः] ये नव जन्मयोनियाँ हैं।

Anvayartha: [sacitta shita samvritah] sacitta, shita, samvrita [setara] usase ulati tina-acitta, ushna, vivrita [ca ekashah mishrah] aura krama se eka eka ki mili hui tina arthat sacittacitta, shitoshna aura samvritavivrita [tat yonayah] ye nava janmayoniyam haim |

Explanation in English from Ācārya Pūjyapāda’s Sarvārthasiddhi:

So far, the births, the basis for the attainment of enjoyment of things of the world, have been dealt with. Now, the kinds of seats-of-birth (yoni) must be described.

That which has consciousness is ‘sacitta’, that is, with-life. A kind of touch (sparśa) is ‘śīta’ or cold. Like the word ‘white’, it denotes both the substance (dravya) and the quality (guṇa). Hence that which is ‘cold’ denotes the substance too. That which is covered well is ‘saṃvṛta’. That place which cannot be seen is covered or hidden–‘saṃvṛta’. ‘Setara’ means the opposite. What are these? Matter without life, hot and exposed are the opposite. ‘Miśra’ is that which partakes of both natures mentioned above. Thus, with-and-without-life (sacittācitta), cold-and-hot (śītoṣṇa), covered-and-exposed (saṃvṛta-vivṛta) are ‘miśra’. The word ‘ekaśaḥ’ in the sūtra indicates the proper sequence of the seats-of-birth (yoni). It must be understood as follows–with-life, without-life, cold, hot, covered and exposed. The sequence is not with-life, cold, and so on. ‘Tat’, meaning ‘that’, is intended to indicate the kinds of birth. These are the seats-of-birth for spontaneous generation–sammūrcchana–etc. There are, thus, nine kinds of seats-of-birth (yoni).

Is there distinction between the seats-of-birth (yoni) and birth (janma)? Yes, there is; like between the container and the contained. These seats-of-birth (yoni), such as with-life, are the containers. The contained are the kinds of birth. In the seats-of-birth, that are with-life (sacitta), etc., the soul assimilates matter fit to be transformed into the body, the food, the sense-organs, etc., through the three kinds of birth. The celestial and infernal beings take their origin in the yoni that is without-life (acitta); the special bed–upapāda–is without-life. Those who take birth from the uterus have mixed (miśra) seat-of-birth. In their case, the semen and blood in the mother’s womb are lifeless. But, as these are combined with the vitality of the living mother, it is called a mixed yoni.

The yoni of the spontaneously generated–sammūrcchana–are of three kinds. Some generate from the yoni with-life (sacitta). Others generate from the yoni without-life (acitta). And yet others generate from mixed (miśra) yoni. Those who have common bodies (sādhāraṇa śarīra) generate from the living yoni since they inhabit the common body and are dependent on each other. The yoni of rest of the spontaneously generated–sammūrcchana–beings are of both kinds, without-life (acitta) and mixed (miśra). The celestial and infernal beings take their rise from hot (uṣṇa) as well as cold (śīta) yoni as some of these places are hot and some are cold. Those who possess bodies that emit light take their rise from hot (uṣṇa) yoni. The rest of the beings have three kinds of seats-of-birth (yoni). Some have cold (śīta), some have hot (uṣṇa), and some others have mixed (miśra) yoni. The yoni of the celestial, the infernal and the one-sensed beings are covered. Those with incomplete senses (vikalendriya), i.e., from two to four-sensed beings, have exposed (vivṛta) yoni. Those who are born of uterus have mixed (miśra) yoni.

The 84,00,000 kinds of yoni can be ascertained from the Scripture:

“The one-sensed souls with common bodies from eternity–nityanigoda, other one-sensed souls with common bodies–itaranigoda, earth-bodied (pṛthivī-kāyika), water-bodied (jalakāyika), fire-bodied (agnikāyika) and air-bodied (vāyukāyika) beings are of (originate from) 7,00,000 yoni, each. The yoni of trees and other vegetation are 10,00,000. The yoni of all the beings with incomplete senses (vikalendriya) are 6,00,000. The seats-of-birth (yoni) of celestial beings, infernal beings, and five-sensed animals are 4,00,000, each. The yoni of human beings are 14,00,000.”