Sacred Texts Jainism Index Previous Next
Gaina Sutras, Part II (SBE45) [1895], at sacred-texts.com
I shall deliver in due order the Lecture on Lêsyâ; hear the nature of the six Lêsyâs (produced by) Karman. (1)
Hear 1. the names, 2. colours, 3. tastes, 4. smells, 5. touches, 6. degrees, 7. character, 8. variety, 9. duration, 10. result, and 11. life of the Lêsyâs. (2)
1. They are named in the following order: black, blue, grey, red, yellow, and white. (3)
2. The black Lêsyâ has the colour of a rain-cloud, a buffalo's horn, (the fruit of) Rishtaka 1, or the eye of the wagtail. (4)
The blue Lêsyâ has the colour of the blue Asôka 2, the tail of the Kasha 3, or of lapis lazuli. (5)
The grey Lêsyâ has the colour of the flower of Atasî 4, the feathers of the Kôkila, or the collar of pigeons. (6)
The red Lêsyâ has the colour of vermilion, the rising sun, or the bill of a parrot. (7)
The yellow Lêsyâ has the colour of orpiment, turmeric, or the flowers of Sana 5 and Asana 6. (8)
The white Lêsyâ has the colour of a conch-shell, the aṅka-stone 7, Kunda-flowers 8, flowing milk, silver, or a necklace of pearls. (9)
3. The taste of the black Lêsyâ is infinitely more bitter than that of Tumbaka 9, (the fruit of the) Nimb-tree 10, or of Rôhinî. (10)
The taste of the blue Lêsyâ is infinitely more pungent than Trikatuka 1 and Hastipippalî. (11)
The taste of grey Lêsyâ is infinitely sourer than that of unripe Mango and Kapittha 2. (12)
The taste of red Lêsyâ is infinitely more pleasant than that of ripe Mango and Kapittha. (13)
The taste of yellow Lêsyâ is infinitely better than that of excellent wine and various liquors, honey and Mairêyaka 3. (14)
The taste of white Lêsyâ is infinitely better than that of dates, grapes, milk, candied and pounded sugar. (15)
The smell of the bad Lêsyâs (viz. the three first) is infinitely worse than that of the corpse of a cow, dog, or snake. (16)
The smell of the three good Lêsyâs is infinitely more pleasant than that of fragrant flowers and of perfumes when they are pounded. (17)
5. The touch of the bad Lêsyâs is infinitely worse than that of a saw, the tongue of a cow, or leaf of the Teak tree. (18)
The touch of the three good Lêsyâs is infinitely more pleasant than that of cotton, butter, or Sirîsha-flowers 4. (19)
6. The degrees 5 of the Lêsyâs are three, or nine,
or twenty-seven, or eighty-one, or two hundred and forty-three. (20)
7. A man who acts on the impulse of the five Âsravas 1, does not possess the three Guptis, has not ceased to injure the six (kinds of living beings), commits cruel acts, is wicked and violent, is afraid of no consequences 2, is mischievous and does not subdue his senses--a man of such habits develops the black Lêsyâ. (21, 22)
A man of the following qualities: envy, anger, want of self-control, ignorance, deceit, want of modesty, greed, hatred, wickedness, carelessness, love of enjoyment; a man who pursues pleasures and does not abstain from sinful undertakings, who is wicked and violent--a man of such habits develops the blue Lêsyâ. (23, 24)
A man who is dishonest in words and acts, who is base, not upright, a dissembler and deceiver 3, a heretic, a vile man, a talker of hurtful and sinful things, a thief, and full of jealousy--a man of such habits develops the grey Lêsyâ. (25, 26)
A man who is humble, steadfast, free from deceit and inquisitiveness, well disciplined, restrained, attentive to his study and duties 4, who loves the Law and keeps it, who is afraid of forbidden things and strives after the highest good--a man of such habits develops the red Lêsyâ. (27, 28)
A man who has but little anger, pride, deceit, and greed, whose mind is at ease, who controls himself,
who is attentive to his study and duties, who speaks but little, is calm, and subdues his senses--a man of such habits develops the yellow Lêsyâ. (29, 30)
A man who abstains from constant thinking about his misery and about sinful deeds, but engages in meditation on the Law and truth only 1, whose mind is at ease, who controls himself, who practises the Samitis and Guptis, whether he be still subject to passion or free from passion, is calm, and subdues his senses--a man of such habits develops the white Lêsyâ. (31, 32)
8. There are as many varieties 2 of Lêsyâs as there are Samayas 3 in the innumerable Avasarpinîs and Utsarpinîs, and as there are countless worlds. (33)
9. Half a muhûrta is the shortest, and thirty-three Sâgarôpamâs plus one muhûrta is the longest duration of the black Lêsyâ. (34)
Half a muhûrta is the shortest, and ten Sâgarôpamâs plus one Palyôpamâ and a part of an Asamkhyêya is the longest duration of the blue Lêsyâ. (35)
Half a muhûrta is the shortest, and three Sâgarôpamâs plus one Palyôpamâ and a part of an Asamkhyêya is the longest duration of the grey Lêsyâ. (36)
Half a muhûrta is the shortest, and two Sâgarôpamâs plus one Palyôpamâ and a part of an Asamkhyêya is the longest duration of the red Lêsyâ. (37)
Half a muhûrta is the shortest, and ten Sâgarôpamâs plus one muhûrta is the longest duration of the yellow Lêsyâ. (38)
Half a muhûrta is the shortest, and thirty-three Sâgarôpamâs plus one muhûrta is the longest duration of the white Lêsyâ. (39)
I have described above the duration of the Lêsyâs generally; I shall now detail their duration in the four walks of mundane existence 1. (40)
The shortest duration of the grey Lêsyâ (of a denizen of hell) is ten thousand years, the longest three Sâgarôpamâs plus one Palyôpamâ and part of an Asamkhyêya. (41)
The shortest duration of the blue Lêsyâ (of a denizen of hell) is three Sâgarôpamâs plus one Palyôpamâ and a part of an Asamkhyêya, the longest ten Sâgarôpamâs plus one Palyôpamâ and a part of an Asamkhyêya. (42)
The shortest duration of the black Lêsyâ (of a denizen of hell) is ten Sâgarôpamâs plus one Palyôpamâ and a part of an Asamkhyêya, the longest thirty-three Sâgarôpamâs. (43)
I have described the duration of the Lêsyâs of denizens of hell; I shall now describe that of animals, men, and gods. (44)
The duration of any of the Lêsyâs except the best (viz. white one) is less than a muhûrta for (the lowest organisms), animals, and men 2. (45)
Half a muhûrta is the shortest duration of the white Lêsyâ (of animals and men), and the longest a Krore of former years 3 less nine years. (46)
I have described the duration of the Lêsyâs of animals and men, I shall now describe that of the gods. (47)
The shortest duration of the black Lêsyâ is ten thousand years, the longest a Palyôpamâ and (a part of) an Asamkhyêya. (48)
The shortest duration of the blue Lêsyâ is equal to the longest of the black one plus one Samaya; the longest is one Palyôpamâ plus a (greater part of) an Asamkhyêya. (49)
The shortest duration of the grey Lêsyâ is equal to the longest of the blue one plus one Samaya; the longest is one Palyôpamâ plus (a still greater part of) an Asamkhyêya. (50)
I shall now describe the red Lêsyâ as it is with gods, Bhavanapatis, Vyantaras, Gyôtishkas, and Vaimânikas. (51)
The shortest duration of the red Lêsyâ is one Palyôpamâ, the longest two Sâgarôpamâs plus one Palyôpamâ and a part of an Asamkhyêya 1. (52)
The shortest duration of the red Lêsyâ is ten thousand years, the longest two Sâgarôpamâs plus one Palyôpamâ and a part of an Asamkhyêya. (53)
The longest duration of the red Lêsyâ plus one Samaya is equal to the shortest of the yellow Lêsyâ; its longest, however, is ten muhûrtas longer. (54)
The longest duration of the yellow Lêsyâ plus one Samaya is equal to the shortest of the white Lêsyâ; the longest, however, is thirty-three muhûrtas longer. (55)
10. The black, blue, and grey Lêsyâs are the
lowest Lêsyâs; through them the soul is brought into miserable courses of life. (56)
The red, yellow, and white Lêsyâs are the good Lêsyâs; through them the soul is brought into happy courses of life. (57)
11. In the first moment of these Lêsyâs when they are joined (with the soul), the latter is not born into a new existence 1. (58)
In the last moment of all these Lêsyâs when they are joined (with the soul), the latter is not born into a new existence. (59)
While the last muhûrta is running and a part of it is still to come, the souls with their Lêsyâs developed, go to a new birth. (60)
A wise man should, therefore, know the nature of these Lêsyâs; he should avoid the bad ones and obtain the good ones. (61)
Thus I say.
196:2 The lêsyâs (adhyavasâya visêshâh) are different conditions produced in the soul by the influence of different Karman; they are therefore not dependent on the nature of the soul, but on the Karman which accompanies the soul, and are, as it were, the reflection of the Karman on the soul, as stated in the following verse from the Avakûri: krishnâdidravyasâkivyât parinâmô ya âtmanah | spatikasyêva tatrâyam lêsyâsabdah pravartate || The alteration produced on the soul, just as on a crystal by the presence of black things, &c., is denoted by the word lêsyâ.' The Lêsyâ, or, according to the above explanation, what produces Lêsyâ, is a subtile substance accompanying the soul; to it are attributed the qualities described in this lecture.--The word lêsâ is derived from klêsa; this etymology appears rather fanciful, but I think it may be right. For the Lêsyâs seem to be the Klêsas, which affect the soul, conceived as a kind of substance. The Sanskrit term Lêsyâ is of course a hybrid word. It must, however, be stated that lêsâ occurs also in the meaning 'colour,' e.g. Sûtrakrit. I, 6, 13, and that the Prâkrit of klêsa is kilêsa.
197:1 Sapindus Detergens.
197:2 It is not the common Asôka, Jonesia Asoka, which has red flowers.
197:3 Corarias Indica, blue jay; according to some, a kingfisher.
197:4 Linum Usitatissimum, whose flowers are blue.--The word for grey is kâû = kâpôta; in the comm., however, it is described as kimkit krishnâ, kimkil lôhitâ, which would be rather brown. But the description given in our verse leaves no doubt that grey colour is intended.
197:5 Crotolaria Juncea.
197:6 Terminalia Tomentosa.
197:7 Aṅka, manivisêsha.
197:8 Jasminum Multiflorum.
197:9 The gourd Lagenaria Vulgaris.
197:10 Azadirachta Indica.
198:1 The aggregate of three spices, &c., black and long pepper and dry ginger.
198:2 Feronia Elephantum.
198:3 A kind of intoxicating drink, extracted from the blossoms of Lythrum Fructicosum, with sugar, &c.
198:4 Acacia Sirisa.
198:5 The Lêsyâs may possess their qualities in a low, middle, or high degree; each of these degrees is again threefold, viz. low, middle, and high. In this way the subdivision is carried on up to 243.
199:1 I.e. commits the five great sins.--The following verses give the character--lakshana--of the Lêsyâs.
199:2 This is, according to the comm., the meaning of the word niddhamdhasaparinâmô.
199:3 Paliuñkaga-uvahiya = pratikuñkaka-upadhika.
199:4 Yôgavân upadhânavân.
200:1 Literally: who avoids the ârta and raudra dhyânas, and practises the dharma and sukla dhyânas. These terms cannot be adequately translated; the reader may therefore be referred for details to Bhandarkar's Report, p. 110 ff.
200:2 Thânâim sthânâni.
200:3 Samaya is the smallest division of time = instant, moment.
201:1 Viz. as denizens of hell, brutes, men, and gods. Only the three first Lêsyâs lead to being born in hell.
201:2 The consequence of this statement appears to be that at the expiration of the Lêsyâ a new one is produced. The commentators, however, are not explicit on this head.
201:3 About the former years, see above, p. 16, note 1.
202:1 This verse seems to lay down the duration of the Lêsyâ in the case of common gods, while the next one applies to Bhavanapatis, &c.
203:1 The question treated rather darkly in the next three verses is, according to the comm., the following:--Every individual dies in the same Lêsyâ in which he is born. When his Lêsyâ ends with his life, then the soul must get a new Lêsyâ. Our verses state at which time the new Lêsyâ comes into existence or is joined with the soul.