Jaina Culture

SR No.: 011051
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Mohanlal Mehta
Publisher: P V Research Institute Varanasi
Publication Year: 2002
Total Pages: 162
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 10 MB

Page 111

102
JAINA CULTURE
Animal Beings :
Animal beings are classified into two broad divisions : movable beings and immovable beings. The immovable beings are of three kinds: earthly beings (earth-bodied) watery beings (water-bodied) and plants. They are again divided into . various sub-classes. They are either subtle or gross and both of them are either developed or undeveloped. Earth, gravel, sand, stone, rock, rock-salt, iron, copper, silver, gold, diamond etc. are earthly beings. Water, dew, fog etc. are watery beings. As regards plants, either many have one body in common or each has its own body.
The movable beings are of three kinds: fiery beings (firebodied), airy beings (air-bodied) and beings with an organic body. Fire, lightning etc. are fiery beings. Whirl-wind, thick wind, high wind etc. are airy beings. The beings with an organic body are of four varieties: with two sense-organs, with three sense-organs, with four sense-organs and with five sense-organs. Worms, shells, conches etc. possess two senseorgans (touch and taste). Ants, bugs etc. are possessed of three sense-organs (touch, taste and smell). Flies, mosquitoes, bees, scorpions etc. have four sense-organs (touch, taste, smell and sight). The animals with five sense-organs (touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing) are of two categories: those which originate by spontaneous generation (sammarcchima) and those which are born from the womb (garbhaja). Each of them is again of three kinds: aquatic, terrestrial and aerial. Fishes, tortoises, crocodiles etc. are of the aquatic type. The terrestrial animals are of two varieties : quadrupeds and reptiles. The quadrupeds are of four types: solidungular animals as horses etc., multiungular animals as elephants etc., and animals having toes with nails as lions etc. The reptiles are of two kinds: those which walk on their arms and those which move on their breast. Lizards and the like are of the first kind; snakes and the like are of the second kind. The aerial animals are of four varieties: those