Tattvartha Sutra (with commentary)

by Vijay K. Jain | 2018 | 130,587 words | ISBN-10: 8193272625 | ISBN-13: 9788193272626

This page describes the four kinds of bondage (bandha) which is verse 8.3 of the English translation of the Tattvartha Sutra which represents the essentials of Jainism and Jain dharma and deals with the basics on Karma, Cosmology, Ethics, Celestial beings and Liberation. The Tattvarthasutra is authorative among both Digambara and Shvetambara. This is verse 3 of the chapter Bondage of Karmas and includes an extensive commentary.

Verse 8.3 - The four kinds of bondage (bandha)

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Tattvartha sūtra 8.3:

प्रकृतिस्थित्यनुभवप्रदेशास्तद्विधयः ॥ ८.३ ॥

prakṛtisthityanubhavapradeśāstadvidhayaḥ || 8.3 ||

Bondage (bandha) is of four kinds: according to the nature or species–prakṛti, duration–sthiti, fruition–anubhava (or anubhāga), and the quantity of space-points–pradeśa. (3)

Hindi Anvayarth:

अन्वयार्थ: [तत्] उस बन्ध के [प्रकृतिस्थित्यनुभवप्रदेशाः] प्रकृतिबन्ध, स्थितिबन्ध, अनुभागबन्ध और प्रदेशबन्ध [विधयः] ये चार भेद हैं।

Anvayartha: [tat] usa bandha ke [prakritisthityanubhavapradeshah] prakritibandha, sthitibandha, anubhagabandha aura pradeshabandha [vidhayah] ye cara bheda haim |

Explanation in English from Ācārya Pūjyapāda’s Sarvārthasiddhi:

Is bondage of one kind or of several kinds?

‘Prakṛti’ means nature. What is the nature of the margosa? Bitterness. What is the nature of molasses? Sweetness. Similarly, what is the nature of knowledge-obscuring (jñānāvaraṇa) karma? Non-comprehension of objects. What is the nature of perception-obscuring (darśanāvaraṇa) karma? Non-perception of objects. The feeling-producing (vedanīya) karma has the nature of pleasant (sātā) and unpleasant (asātā) feeling. The faith-deluding (darśanmoha) karma has the nature of wrong-belief in the reality. The conduct-deluding (cāritramoha) karma has the nature of non-restraint (asaṃyama). The life-determining (āyuḥ) karma has the nature of the span of life in a particular state of existence. The name-karma (nāmakarma) has the nature of names such as the infernal being, the human being, the celestial being and the plant and animal. The status-determining (gotra) karma has the nature of high and low status. The obstructive (antarāya) karma has the nature of causing obstruction in way of giving, gaining, enjoyment, and so on. Thus, that which is the cause of such happenings or experiences is ‘prakṛti’ or the nature. Not falling off from its nature (prakṛti) is duration (sthiti). For instance, the retention of the sweetness of milk of the goat, the cow, or the buffalo, is its duration. Similarly, not deviating from the nature of non-comprehension is the duration (sthiti) of the knowledge-obscuring (jñānāvaraṇa) karma. The duration (sthiti) of other karmas must be understood in the same way. The peculiar taste or experience of each karma is its fruition (anubhava). Just as the milk of the goat or the cow or the buffalo has its own peculiar taste, similarly each karma has its peculiar taste or experience as it gets to fruition (anubhava). Determining the quantity of karmas is space (pradeśa) bondage. Thus, the measure of the space-points of the karmic molecules that have turned into karmas is space (pradeśa) bondage. ‘Vidhi’ means ‘kinds’. These are the four kinds of bondage. The activity (yoga) causes nature-bondage (prakṛtibandha) and space-bondage (pradeśabandha), and the passions (kaṣāya) cause duration-bondage (sthitibandha) and fruition-bondage (anubhavabandha). The diversity of bondage is due to the degree or intensity of activity (yoga) and passions (kaṣāya).

It has been said,

“The soul, due to activity (yoga) causes nature-bondage (prakṛtibandha) and space-bondage (pradeśabandha), and due to passions (kaṣāya) causes duration-bondage (sthitibandha) and fruition-bondage (anubhavabandha). The soul which does not get transformed due to activity (yoga) and passions (kaṣāya) or the soul that is rid of activity (yoga) and passions (kaṣāya) does not undergo bondage.”

Since passions (kaṣāya) exist only till the tenth guṇasthāna, up to this stage, duration-bondage (sthitibandha) and fruition-bondage (anubhavabandha) are possible; not in the higher stages. Since activity (yoga) exists till the thirteenth guṇasthāna, up to this stage, nature-bondage (prakṛtibandha) and space-bondage (pradeśabandha) are possible. In the fourteenth guṇasthāna, since activity (yoga) is absent, there is no bondage.

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