Enlightment (Bodh)

Ashta Pahuda

Acharya Kund kund

Courtesy of Jain Mission Information

IV. Enlightment (Bodh)

1. Bowing to the acharyas who know the meaning of various scriptures, whose austerity is purified by self-control and faith and who are free from the taint of passion and pure.

2. I will speak briefly of (enlightenment) to bring happiness to living things in all the six forms, according to the word of the great Jina spoken for the instruction for all people.

3 & 4. (The eleven repositories of Enlightenment are as) the arhata has seen well -ayantan (abode), chaityagraha (house of meditation) Jina-pratima (the Jina’s image), darsana (faith), Jinabimba (the Jina’s reflection) free from attachment, Jin-mudra (the Jina’s form), jnanam atmartham (knowledge of objective of the self), deva (the divine), tirtham (landing place), arhata (the destroyer of enemy or karma), and Pravarijya (renunciation), purified by virtue; know them one by one. (The terms appear to have been used in the technical sense explained in the verses which follow, but Prof. Upadye interprets them literally in his edition of Pravachansara).

5. The self-controlled form that has subdued mind, speech and body, and the response of the senses is called ayatan in the path of the Jina.

6. The great saint who has conquered pride, attachment, aversion, delusion, anger and greed, and keeps the five great vows, is called ayatan.

7. A Siddha is one who has achieved his true purpose, has pure meditation, and is endowed with knowledge; such a siddha, the best among holy recluses and cognisant of his true purpose is called a Siddayatan.

8. One who realises the self as light, and that of others as consciousness, who is purified by the five great vows, and is the embodiment of knowledge is known as a Chaityagraha.

9. In the path of the Jina, the source of happiness to life in all its six forms, the self which realises the nature of bondage, liberation, suffering, and bliss is called a Chaityagraha.

10. The moving body, one’s own or that of others, with conduct purified by faith and knowledge, without possession and free from attachment is called pratima in the Jina’s path.

11. He who lives a pure life and knows and sees the pure truth is adorable as a possessionless and self-controlled pratima.

12 & 13. With limitless vision, infinite knowledge, infinite energy, and infinite everlasting bliss, free from body and the bondage of eight kinds of Karmas, incomparable unchangeable, imperturbable, visualised as established in the region of the Perfect with the form to be abandoned, the Siddhas constitute a pratima or form of the formless.

14. One who shows the path of liberation, (consisting of) righteous faith, righteous living and true religion, who is without possessions and embodiment of knowledge, is called a darsana in the Jina’s path.

15. As smell is embodied in a flower, as thee is embodied in milk, verily so is right path embodied in a darsana.

16. `Jinabimba’ is one who is the embodiment of knowledge and pure righteous living, who is without attachment, and initiates and instructs people in the pure means of destroying Karma.

17. Prostrate yourself before, and adore venerate and love in every way Him who is firmly established in faith, knowledge and pure consciousness.

18. Pure in austerity, vow and virtue, knowing and seeing pure truth, that form of the Arhata is the (proper) giver of initiation and instruction.

19. The form firm in righteousness, the form expressing control over the senses, the form showing subjugation of passions, the form absorbed in knowledge, such a form is described as Jina mudra.

20. Knowledge attains the goal of the path of liberation, consisting of self control and fit for contemplation, therefore cultivate knowledge.

21. As a man without a bow and without an arrow cannot hit the target accurately, so a man without knowledge does not see the goal of the path of liberation.

22. A man may have knowledge (as a natural gift); a good man endowed with reverence acquires it. With knowledge one sees the goal of the path of liberation.

23. One who has sensorial knowledge as the strong bow knowledge of scripture for string, the three gems (faith, knowledge, and conduct) for the arrow, and his supreme good as the target aimed at, does not miss the path of liberation.

24. He is Divine who gives living, religion, enjoyment and knowledge (means of liberation); only He can give these who ha (right) living, religion, and renunciation (means of liberation).

25. A religion purified by mercy renunciation free from all attachment, divinity free from delusion, these elevate good people.

26. Purified by vows and realisation, having control of the five senses and free from desire, as such a Tirtha should a saint have the bath of initiation and instruction.

27. One whose religion, faith, self-control, austerity and knowledge are free from taint, is a Tirtha, according to the path of the Jina, if also possessed of mental calm.

28. The Arhata is (to be) realised in all aspects, name location, substance, character, attributes, mode, exit, (from the previous state of existence, entrance (into that of Arhata.) and the splendour (attached there-to).

29. Having infinite vision and knowledge, emancipated by the destruction of eight kinds of karmas, endowed with virtues above comparison, such as in Arhata.

30. One who has conquered age, disease, birth, and death, and the taint of Karmas, and become the embodiment of knowledge is an Arhata.

31. The Arhata’s person should be located in five ways, viz. by stage of spiritual development, specification of state of existence, physical condition, vital functions, and classifications of soul.

32. An Arhata is at the 13th stage of spiritual development, verily absolute knowledge incarnate, with 34 wonders and 8 emblems. (The 14th stage is represented by Siddha who have finally discarded the body.)

33. (The fourteen specifications required are) form of life, senses, body, souls reaction to body, sex, passions, knowledge, degree of righteousness, vision, soul tarnish, chance of liberation, realisation, sense of co-ordination, and mode of sustenance.

34. In respect of physical condition an Arhata is a great god, perfect in mode of sustenance, body, senses, mind, breathing, and speech.

35. There are ten vital functions, viz. the five senses, mind, speech, body and breathing and age.

36. Man has the 14th place among five-sensed beings, in the classification of souls. An Arhant has that place with all the other attributes endowed with virtue.

37, 38 & 39. Freedom from old age, disease and suffering, from intake of food and excretion from nose and mouth, from perspiration, ten vital functions, physical perfection, and 1008 attributes, flesh and blood white like camphor or a shell in the whole body, all these qualities with sweet scented material body are said to go to the making of the Arhata’s person.

40. Free from pride, attachment and aversion, purified by destruction of the taint of Karmas, free from agitation of mind, such should be known to be the mental state of a person of absolute knowledge.

41. Whose vision sees and knowledge knows substances and their modes and who is purified by realisation, should be known to be an Arhata in spirit.

42, 43 & 44. A deserted house, (hollow) tree-trunk, grove, cremation-ground, mountain-cave, mountain-peak, dense-forest, or habitation (for recluses), a place of pilgrimage fit for (a life of) independence, a house for meditation, a Jaina temple, such are the places worthy of consideration (for choice as residence), so has the great Jina declared in the Jina’s Path. The best of saints who keep the five great vows, have subdued the five senses, are without desire and engaged in study and meditation love such places.

45. Freedom from house, possession and delusion, and endurance of hardships, subduing of passions freedom from sin and paraphernalia, such is renunciation said to be.

46. Freedom from alms in the shape of cow, grain, clothes, bed, seat, umbrella etc., such is renunciation said to be.

47. Regarding with an even mind friend and foe, praise and blame, loss and gain, straw and gold, such is renunciation said to be.

48. Accepting food at all places without discriminating between big and medium-sized houses, poor and rich, such is renunciation said to be.

49. Without possession and relations, without pride and expectation, without attraction and aversion, without attachment and egotism, such is renunciation said to be.

50. Without love and greed, without delusion and agitation, without taint and fear, with thoughts free from expectation, such is renunciation said to be.

51. Without love and greed, without delusion and agitation, without taint and fear, with thoughts free from expectation, such is renunciation said to be.

52. With fruition of Karmas stopped, with forgiveness and control of senses, with a body unadorned and unoiled, free from pride, attachment and aversion, such is renunciation said to be.

53. with ignorance removed, eight kinds of Karmas destroyed, perversity overcome, purified by right faith, such is renunciation said to be.

54. In the Jina’s path, enunciation, is permitted to (all) the six kinds of constitutions; it is without  possessions and is the cause of destruction of Karmas. Good people adopt it.

55. Absence of possession, even to the extent of the husk of a sessamun seed, and of its cause (desire), such is renunciations; the All-Seeing (Jina) has said so.

56. (They) endure distress and hardships and always live in uninhabited places, using a stone slab, piece of wood or bare ground for all purposes.

57. Company not kept with animals, women, and sexless and immoral persons, wicked stories avoided and (time spent in) study and meditation, such is renunciation said to be.

58. Purified by austerity, the (main) vows and virtue, purified by righteous living and righteous faith, purified by (other) pure attributes, such is renunciation said to be.

59. Thus has been described briefly according to the Jina’s path (renunciation) full of the virtue of self-realisation, purified highly by right faith, and free from possessions.

60. For the enlightenment of seekers of emancipation and the good of life in (all) the six forms, I have described the figure which purifies as stated by the great Jina in the Jina’s path.

61. What was uttered by the Jina assumed the form of words in vernacular Sutras; just so it has been spoken and was learnt by the disciple of Bhandra Bahu.

62. Victory to the great Bhadra Bahu, chief among teachers, versed in the twelve angas amplified at length by the fourteen Purvas, and thus possessed of full knowledge of the scripture.