Ashta Pahuda

Acharya Kund kund  

Courtesy of  Jain Mission Information

V. Realisation (Bhava)

1. Bowing my head before the best of the Jinas and the Sidhas and other saints adorable by the best of men and the gods of the higher and the lower orders, I will compose Bhava Pahuda.

2. Mental purity is the most essential mark of a saint; do not regard external form as the supreme end; the Jina has declared mental state to be the cause of virtue and vice.

3. External ties are renounced in order to purify mental state; external renunciation is unfruitful for one possessed of internal ties.

4. One devoid of mental purity does not attain perfection even if he performs austerities in many ways during crores of lives, extending arms and discarding clothes.

5. With an impure mind what use is the breaking of external ties? What can renunciation of external ties achieve for one devoid of mental purity?

6. O wayfarer, know mental purity to be of first importance on the way to the abode of the Perfect, as declared by the Jina with emphasis; what use is insignia to you without mental purity?

7. Good man, without mental purity often have you adopted and rejected external ascetic from eternity in this unending mundane existence.

8. O soul, thou hast suffered terrible misery as inhabitant of the dreadful hells and as god of a low order, as man or a lower form of life; (now) ponder over mental state commended by the Jinas.

9. For long have you endured great, dreadful and unbearable suffering in the cells of the seven hells, endured it without break. 

10. For long in the lower forms of life hast thou suffered from digging, heating, burning, blowing cutting and captivity owing to lack of mental purity.

11. In human life thou hast endured for time without end four kinds of suffering, from unforeseen catastrophes, mental arguish, natural disease and (artificially inflicted) bodily pain.

12. O man of great glory, without an auspicious mental state, thou hast suffered deep mental anguish in the abode of the gods owing to separation from thy goddess.

13. As an observer of form but filled with evil cravings of five kinds sensual etc. Thou wast born as a low caste god. 


14. Entertaining degrading thoughts thou hast often since eternity endured suffering, the seed of (which is sown by) evil mental attitude.

15. As god of a low order thou hast endured great mental suffering in seeing the virtues, wealth, powers and glory of many kinds of the higher gods.

16. Often hast thou attained the state of a low order of gods as a result of being enamoured of immoral stories, intoxicated with pride and filled with evil thoughts.

17. Holy man, for long hast thou lived in the womb of various mothers, unclean, disgusting and pullted with Karmas. 

18. Great man, the milk you have sucked from the breast of various mothers in the endless cycle of births exceeded the water in the ocean.

19. Owing to sorrow at thy death, many different mothers have shed tears which exceeded the water in the ocean. 

20. In the sea of mundane existence thou hast cut and discarded hair, nails, umbilical cords and bones, which, if collected by a god, would form a heap bigger than a mountain.

21. For long has thou lived at all sorts of places in the three words, water, land, fire, air, sky, hill, river, cave, tree, forest etc., dependent on others.

22. Thou hast swallowed all kinds of matter existing in the world without feeling appeased, even after eating again and again. 

23. Suffering from thirst, thou hast drunk water (equal in quantity to all the water) in the three worlds, even then thy thirst was not quenched; (now) think of ending mundane existence.

24. Holy brave man, thou hast assumed and discarded many forms which are beyond count in the endless ocean of mundane existence.

25, 26 & 27. O friend, for a long time wast thou often born as a human being or in a lower form of life and sustained the terrible suffering of unnatural death, losing life by poisoning, pain, loss of blood, fear, blow from a weapon, worry, stoppage of food or respiration, snow, fire, water accident in climbing, and falling from a high mountain or tree, chemical experiments and in connection with various unlawful acts.

28. Thou hast suffered death 66336 times within an hour (Muhurta=48 minutes), as a microbe. 

29. The minimum duration of life is in the case of two, three and four-sensed beings 80, 60, and 40 times respectively within a muhurta and 24 times for a five-sensed being.

30. Thus hast thou wandered in the huge world for lack of the three gems, therefore regulate life by the three gems; so has the Jina spoken.

31. The self absorbed in the self-verily such a soul has right faith; knowledge of that self is right knowledge and its functioning like this is right conduct.

32. O soul, in numerous other lives has thou met death the wrong way; (now) think of death in the right way to get rid of old age and death (altogether).

33. In the entire extent of the three worlds there is not a point of space where the ascetic observing (merely) material form has not been born and died.

34. For endless time the soul has suffered the pain of birth old age and death, even on adoption of the Jina's insignia, if devoid of the traditionally inculcated mental purity.

35. In the endless sea of mundane existence there is no point of space or time, no form of matter or life, no mode or species and no age which the soul has not made its own and given up.

36. In the 343 Rajus of world space, barring eight points (at the base of mount Meru), there is none where the soul has not wandered.

37. Every square cubit of the human body can have 96 ailments; say how many ailments can the entire body have? 

38. Great man of glory, all these ills hast thou suffered in past lives, being helpless in the power of non-self, and even an art thou suffering (now); what use is it prattling further?

39. For long hast thou lived 9 or 10 months at a time in the womb amidst bile, intestines, urine, spleen, liver, blood, phlegm and a net-work of worms.

40. Thou hast lived in the mother's womb in the middle of chile and phlegm or food first brought by the mother in contact with her teeth and eaten.

41. O great saint, as an ignorant baby thou hast rolled about in dirt and growing into a child often hast thou eaten unclean things.

42. Think of this pitcher of the body, full of flesh, bones, semen, blood, bile, intestines, phlegm, pus and similar dirt and smelling like a car case.

43. One free from hankering is really free, not one free from brothers etc. and friends; brave man, think thus and get rid of internal smelled.

44. For how long, O brave man, had Bahu Bali, free from attachment to body etc. but tainted with pride, to subject himself to austerities?

45. The ascetic named Madhupingu who have up activities in connection with the body, food etc. did not attain holiness simply because of bankering for results, O thou adorable by good people.

46. And another ascetic, Vasista, endured suffering simply because of hankering; O soul, there is no place (in the world) where thou hast not wandered about.

47. In the space occupied by the 84 lacs varieties of living beings there is no place where the soul has not wandered about owing to living an ascetic's life without mental purity.

48. It is mental purity that makes a man holy; by mere observance of material forms in man does not become a holy (lingee), therefore acquire mental purity; what can material forms achieve?

49. Bahu with the Jina's insignia burning the whole of Dandak city owing to internal taint, fell into the Ranrava hell.

50. And another ascetic of holy form, Dvipayana by name, whose faith, knowledge and conduct were vitiated remained endlessly as of the world, (whereas).

51. The brave ascetic of right mental frame, Shivakumara by name, who retained purity of heart in the midst of young women, shook off mundane existence.

52. Bhavya Sena learnt all the scripture consisting of twelve angas and fourteen purvas but did not acquire holiness which arises from mental purity;

53. (Whereas) one Shivabhuti by name, of pure mental state and great glory, in fact became omniscient (simply) by repeating `husk seed' (tusa, masan). (He misunderstood a Verse containing the words but they conveyed to him the idea that self was different from non-self as seed from husk).

54. It is mental state that makes one nude; what use is nudity as external insignia? The accumulation of various kinds of Karmas is destroyed by (a combination of) mental state and form.

55. The Jina has declared that nudity is useless without mental purity; knowing this, o brave man, always meditate of the self. 

56. Free from attachment to body etc., completely free from pride, the self absorbed in the self,-such is the saint of mental purity.

57. "I give up egotism, I am poised in selflessness, my refuge is the self, I renounce all else".

58. "The self is verily my knowledge, the self is my faith and conduct, the self is my vow (pratyakhana) the self is my (means of) stopping ingress of Karmas, my meditation". (Pratyakhana is a "resolution to avoid misdeeds in future")

59. "I am one, everlasting self with the differential of knowledge and vision; other thoughts are alien to me, all attributable to association (with Karmas)".

60. If you want everlasting bliss getting rid quickly of the four states of existence, meditate on the self, pure and taintless, with pure mental frame.

61. He who contemplates the soul in its true nature with pure thoughts gets rid of old age and death and attains Nirvana for certain.

62. The Jina ha said that the soul is of the nature of knowledge and is possessed of consciousness; know that soul in order to destroy Karmas.

63. Those who realise the soul as sui generis which never perishes altogether become free from the body, perfect and beyond description in words.

64. Know the soul to be without taste, colour or smell, imperceptible by the senses, endowed with consciousness, soundless, without a visible sign and formless.

65. Meditate on the five kinds of knowledge which quickly destroy ignorance; the soul that does it in the proper spirit becomes the repository of bliss in heaven or emancipation.

66. What is the use of receipting or listening to (the scripture) without mental purity? Mental attitude is the cause of piety in a house-holder or a homeless ascetic.

67. Outwardly all are naked, the whole lot of hell inhabitants and sub-human forms of life, but being with impure feelings they do not attain holiness.

68. The nude always endure suffering; the nude wander about in the sea of mundane existence; the nude do not achieve enlightenment if devoid of the Jina's faith.

69. what can nudity and asceticism do for you if harbouring disgrace you are tainted with sin and full of slander, ridicule, envy and deceit.

70. Exhibit the Jina;s insignia after getting rid of internal impurity; the soul with impure mental state is corrupted by attachment to non-self.

71. One not established in religion harbours sin and is like the flower of a sugar-cane which neither bears fruit nor has any useful properties.

72. Those who are tied by attachment, though free from external ties, and are devoid of the Jina's faith, do not attain meditation and enlightenment according to the flawless Jaina scripture.

73. After becoming nude in mental attitude and getting rid of the faults of false faith etc., the ascetic should adopt insignia; so has the Jina willed.

74. It is mental purity which is the receptacle of the happiness of heaven and emancipation. The ascetic devoid of mental purity is tainted with the dirt of Karma and the sinner attains a low form of life.

75. With mental purity one attains the great wealth of an emperor and (also) enlightenment, adorable by vidyadharas, gods and men with a row of joined hands.

76. Mental state should be known to be of three kinds, auspicious, inauspicious and pure; inauspicious (mental state is that) associated with paid and passion and auspicious with religion, says the great Jins.

77. Pure mental state should be known to be realisation by the self of the true nature of the self,- so has the great Jina said; adopt that which is good.

78. Melting away pride, melting away false vision and infatuation and so becoming even-minded, the soul attains enlightenment, supreme in the three worlds according to the Jaina scripture.

79. The saint averse from sense-gratification meditating on the sixteen virtues (faith, reverence, chastity etc.,) is in a short time associated with the Karma which ensures future birth as a Tirthakara.

80. O great saint, attend in three ways (thought, word and deed) to 12 kinds of austerity and 13 activities (as prescribed for ascetics) and control the rogue elephant of the mind with the goad of knowledge.

81. Giving up five kinds of clothing sleeping on the ground, two kinds of self-control (internal and external), begging for food, dwelling on past self-realisation, such are the pure spotless Jina's insignia.

82. As diamond is finest among gems and sandal tree among trees, so is the Jina's religion the best among religions to destroy future mundane existence.

83. The Jina's scripture has stated that worship etc. with observance of vows in merit, and realisation of the self, free from the distress of infatuation, is religion.

84. He who believes in, learns, inclines to, and earns merit does so for the sake of sensuous enjoyment; it is not the cause of shedding Karmas.

85. The self absorbed in the self, all faults like attachment etc, being removed, - such is religion, the means of crossing (the sea of) mundane existence, so has the Jina declared.

86. And one who does not reflect on the self but performs all sorts of meritorious deeds without exception, even then he does not attain perfection; he is still said to be of the world.

87. For this reason realise that self in three ways (thought, word and deed), and acquire knowledge of it with resource by which you will attain emancipation.

88. Even the shalisiktha fish went to the great hell owing to evil hankering; knowing this always reflect on the self according to the Jina's faith.

89. To those devoid of mental purity, renouncing of external ties, living on a hill (top), river (bank) or in a cave or den, and meditation and study are all useless.

90. Destroy the army of the senses; destroy the monkey of the mind with resourcefulness; do not adopt the garb of external vows to please the people.

91. Give up the group of nine milder passions (ridicule, sorrow, fear etc.) and false faith, purify the mind, and have devotion for the divine, scripture and preceptor; so has the Jina willed.

92. Reflect day after day in the right way and pure mental state on knowledge of the scripture, the intent of which was spoken by the Tirthankara and which was composed correctly by the holy apostle.

93. Procuring the water of knowledge (they become perfect) free from unappeasable thirst, heat and dryness and living in the abode of the emancipated, head ornament or the three worlds.

94. O ascetic, always endure with your body twenty-two kinds of hardships according to scripture, without relaxing and without loss of self-control.

95. As a stone is not pierced through if kept in water for a long time, even so is the saint not affected by calamities and hardships.

96. Meditate on the twelve reflections (anuprekshas) and the twenty-five bhavanas (of the five vows); what can external form do for one devoid of mental purity? (see chap. III).

97. O saint, even if free from all ties, reflect on the nine categories, the seven principles, the classification of soul, and the fourteen stages of spiritual development.

98. Observe chastity in nine ways, overcoming ten kinds of unchastity; enamoured of sensual appetite thou hast wandered about in the terrible wilderness of mundane existence.

99. O great saint, the ascetic possessed of mental purity attains fourfold realisation; one devoid of mental purity always wanders about in the wide world.

100. The ascetics of mental purity attain the happiness of a series of joyous events (leading up to emancipation); the ascetics of (mere) external form suffer misery as men or in a lower form of life or low caste gods.

101. Owing to impure mental state thou hat eaten food tainted with forty-six faults and had to endure great hardship in a low form of life, being dependent on others than thyself.

102. O soul thou has endured acute suffering for time without beginning owing to eating or drinking green stuff, owing to greed, pride or stupidity.

103. Eating from pride or vanity some live matter like bulbs, roots, seeds, flowers, leaves etc., thou hast wandered about in the endless world.

104. Entertain reverence of five kinds with activity of mind, speech, and body, because men lacking reverence do not attain emancipation (otherwise) well-earned.

105. Man of great glory, always render with devoted love ten kinds of service (to holy men in illness) according to your capacity, to develop devotion to the Jina.

106. Confess before the preceptor with mental purity and without pride or guile, any fault committed in thought word or deed. 

107. Pious holy men, free from attachment, bear the blow of harsh and sharp words from bad people with a view to destroy the taint of Karma.

108. The best of holy men, adorned with forgiveness, destroys all his sins and for certain becomes worthy of praise by Vidyadharas, gods and men.

109. Thus knowing the virtue of forgiveness, forgive all living beings in three ways (thought, word and deed), and put out the fire of anger, harboured for long, with the water of noble forgiveness.

110. Reflect on the time of initiation with pure flawless faith, distinguishing between good and bad in order to achieve supreme enlightment.

111. Attend to the four kinds of insignia after acquiring internal purity; external insignia are verily useless for those devoid of mental purity.

112. Infatuated by the instincts of hunger, fear, possession and sex thou hast wandered in the wilderness of the world for time without beginning in the power of others than-thyself.

113. Observe the minor virtues of sleeping out (in cold weather) exposure to sun (in hot weather) living under a tree (in rainy season) etc. with pure mental state and without desire for worship as reward.

114. Reflect on the first principal (tattva), the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth and the eternal self with purity of three (thought, world and deed) in order to conquer the group of three objectives (religion, living and pleasure, thus leaving emancipation as the sole objective).

115. So long as the soul does not meditate on the principles, so long as it does not think of matters worthy of thought, it does not attain the abode of freedom from old age and death.

116. All sin and all merit, bondage and emancipation arise from motive; so it has been stated in the Jina's scripture. 

117. The soul of inauspicious tarnish, averse from the Jina's word, is bound by inauspicious Karmas due to false belief, passion, lack of self-control and (various) activities (yoga). (`Yoga' is sued here in the sense of whatever arises from the association of self with none-self.)

118. On the other hand, one with pure mental state is bound by auspicious Karmas; so have the two kinds of bondage been stated in short.

119. "I am enveloped with eight kinds of Karmas; burning these, I should now manifest consciousness with the attributes of infinite knowledge, etc."

120. Reflect every day on 18000 items of virtue and the group of 84 lakhs attributes (of an ascetic); why indulge in further idle talk?

121. Entertain religious and pure thoughts, giving up feeling of distress and hankering which the soul has harboured long enough.

122. No ascetic of external form (but, eager for sense gratification can cut the tree of mundane existence; the ascetic of mental purity cuts it with the axe of knowledge.

123. As a torch burns in an inner room free from disturbance by wind, so does the torch of meditation burn when free from the wind of attachment.

124. Meditate on the five masters (parmestins) representing the four causes of happiness (Arhat, Siddha, Sadhu and dharma) protectors, supreme in the world, heads of men, gods and Vidyadharas, lords of realisation and heroic. 

125. Good people, procuring the clear cool water of knowledge with mental purity, get rid of disease, old age, death and heart-burning and become perfect.

126. As a burnt seed does not sprout on the earth's surface, so the burnt Karma seed of an ascetic of mental purity does not sprout into mundane existence.

127. The ascetic of mental purity achieves happiness even as the ascetic of mere form suffers misery; thus knowing good and bad, become self-controlled with mental purity.

128. Those endowed with mental purity achieve the glory of a series of happy events as Tirthakars, Gandharas, etc., so has the Jina stated briefly.

129. "They are blessed, my obeisance to them always in three days, who are purified by right faith, knowledge and conduct, are endowed with mental purity and have destroyed eight kinds of Karmas."

130. The calm (ascetic) with the Jina's mental frame is not tempted even by the inestimable powers, expressed supernaturally, of Kinners, Kimpushes (two lower orders of gods) and Vidyadharas.

131. How can the great saint who knows, sees and meditates on emancipation be then tempted by the inferior pleasures of men and gods?

132. Before you are overpowered by old age or the cell of your body is burnt by the fire of disease or the senses impaired you do what is good for the self.

133. O great saint, always show mercy to the six forms of life and avoid the six repositories (of sin); reflect on the great truth which you have not done so far.

134. Wandering about in the endless sea of mundane existence, thou hast, for the sake of the pleasure of indulgence, taken food (at the cost) of ten vital principles of all living things.

135. Man of great glory, owing to the killing of life you were born and you died in 84 lakhs varieties of life and always suffered misery.

136. O saint, give freedom from fear to five-sensed beings, lower forms of animal life, vegetable kingdom, and life in the four elements, with three kinds of purity (thought, word and deed), to earn the blessing of a series of happy events (culminating in emancipation).

137. (Of false faith) there are 180 kriyavadins (who attribute every kind of activity to the self), 84 akriyadins (who deprive the self of its proper functions), 67 ajnanins (who deny the possibility of knowledge of the self), and 32 vainiyakas (who preach indiscriminate reverence).

138. The bad man does not change his nature even after hearing well (the preaching of) the Jina's religion; the serpent does not become poisonless even by taking milk with sugar in it.

139. The unfortunate person with vision blurred by false faith and intellect and mind perverted does not cherish the religion taught by the Jina.

140. One attached to a false religion, devoted to accursed hypocrites in fancy forms and engaged in reprehensible austerities resorts to a low state of existence.

141. Thus does the soul established in false faith and attached to false scripture upholding wrong points of view wander about eternally in the world; think of it brave man.

142. Giving up 363 kinds of false creeds of hypocrites, fix your mind in the Jina's path; why (need I) indulge in more talk? 

143. The person deprived of the soul is a corpse, the person devoid of faith is a moving corpse; a corpse is not esteemed in this world nor a moving corpse in the other world.

144. As the moon is superior to the stars, a the lion is superior to animals of all other tribes, so is right faith superior to other virtues in the two parts of religion for recluses and laymen.

145. As the king of cobras is adorned by the ruby radiating among other jewels in its hoods, so is the soul, devoted to the Jina, by possessing right faith according to the scripture.

146. As the orb of the moon among the multitude of stars in a clear sky (looks beautiful) so do the Jina's insignia with pure faith and flawless austerity and vows.

147. So knowing good and bad, adhere with mental purity to the gem of faith, the best among the gems and the first step of the staircase (leading up) to emancipation.

148. The soul is the doer and the endurer (of the result of Karmas), non-material, co-extensive with the body, eternal, and (possessed of) vision, knowledge and attentiveness (upyoga); so has the Jiva stated.

149. The fortunate soul blessed with the Jina's faith exterminates the Karmas which obscure vision and knowledge. And which infatuate and obstruct (its manifestation).

150. Energy, happiness, vision and knowledge, -these four attributes are manifested on the four  destructive Karmas being destroyed, and the universe as well as the empty space beyond is illumined.

151. Rid of Karmas, the self is verily the knower, Siva Parmestin, omniscient, all prevailing  (Vishnu), the four-faces one (Bramha -- the four faces representing vision, knowledge, energy and bliss), Enlightened (Buddha, and Paramatman. 

152. "Rid thus of the destructive Karmas, free from eighteen faults (but still) in bodily form, the light of the palace of the three worlds, -may such a one (Arhata) give me supreme enlightenment".

153. Those who bow to the lotus feet of the great Jina with supreme devotion and love root out the creeper of rebirth with the implement of mental purity.

154. As a lotus leaf is not wetted by water owing to its very nature, so a good man is not touched by passion and sense attraction owing to his mental attitude.

155. Those spoken of are persons following the rules of conduct in ful and endowed with virtue and self-control; one harbouring multifarious sins, and having an impure mind is not equal (even) to a layman.

156. Those men are cool and heroic who, adorned with the sword of forgiveness and control of the senses, beat the warriors of passions difficult to overpower and proud of great strength.

157. They are blessed and adorable who, with the strong arms of vision and knowledge principally, rescue good people who have fallen into the sea of sense gratification.

158. The saints cut at the root the creeper of delusion climbing on the great tree of attachment and blossoming forth into the poison of sense-gratification.

159. Those free from attachment, pride and conceit and endowed with a compassionate frame of mind cut through the pillar of sin with the sword of conduct.

160. The great saint adorned with the necklace of the gems of a group of virtues is to the sky of the Jina's religion as the full moon surrounded by the host stars is to the firmament.

161. Men of pure mental state achieve the glories of a lord of the discus, of Rama, keshava, head of the gods, the Jina, and the apostle and the supernatural faculties of saints possessing the power of levitation, etc.

162. Souls reflecting on the Jina's faith attain the supreme bliss of the Perfect, recognised as joyful, ageless and deathless, incomparable, absolutely taintless, noble and inestimable.

163. "May they, lords of the three worlds, perfect, pure, taintless, ever-lasting, give the purity of sincerity to my faith, knowledge and conduct."

164. Why chatter more,-living, religion, pleasure, emancipation, and also other business all depend on mental state. 

165. Thus has the omniscient preached (what forms the basis of) this Bhava-Pahuda; whoever reads listens to or reflects on it properly attains the unchangeable state.