Looking for translation of a Jaina gatha

Translations
1

According to Shatkhandagama (a scripture of the Digambara tradition), Indrabhuti’s learning had inflated his ego. The celestial god Indra, pretending to be a mendicant, approached Indrabhuti, and asked him to explain the latent meaning inherent in the shloka/verse:
पंचेव अत्थिकाया छज्जीव णिकाया महव्वया पंच|
अट्ठयपवयण-मादा सहेउओ बंध-मोक्खो य||
The verse invariably contained reference to Kata, Draviya, Pand, Astikar, Tallva and Leshya, but indrabhuti was unable to explain the technical terms, thus exposing the hollowness of his (shallow) knowledge. This verse was given to the old man by BHagvan Mahavir, and he himself could not explain thereof, as he got immersed in his meditative practice. So without conceding his failure to answer, he went to Lord Mahavira and requested him to explain the meaning of the verse. As he was approaching the divine assembly of Lord Mahavira at his gandhakuti, he saw the lofty manastambha (the column of pride). Seeing the manastambha, his pride vanished and he was filled with humility. In the presence of the great Guru his false pride of attachment of knowledge, disappeared and he beseeched the JIna to teach him. He became the chief disciple – Gandhar of Lord Mahavira.

————————————————

This Jaina story about Mahavira’s cheif disciple, Indrabhuti, is very much close to Sariputta’s story of taking refuge to Buddha because of a famous gatha, but Indrabhuti’s background was more close to Uruvelakassapa, who was an elder brother with lots of own disciples.
Anyway, can anyone translate the above Sanskrit gatha into English? I cannot even find a Latin letter version of that gatha. It would be very helpful to know what they were talking about here.

3 Likes
2

You should be able to change that verse to latin characters easily using SuttaCentral’s transliteration code.

Not sure if this makes much sense:

pṃcev at.thkāyā chj.jīv ṇikāyā mhv.vyā pṃc |
aṭ.ṭhypvyṇ-mādā sheuo bṃdh-mok.kho y ||

3 Likes
3

Thanks a lot, Bhante. I did that on another website:

paṃceva atthikāyā chajjīva ṇikāyā mahavvayā paṃca|
aṭṭhayapavayaṇa-mādā saheuo baṃdha-mokkho ya||

Now I have 2 Latin versions. If it’s in Pali, we’d already break the code. But it is in Sanskrit, I can only try.

2 Likes
4

Hi @lemon, which other website did you use? Interesting the way it filled the syllabes with a’s …

2 Likes
5

https://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/sanskrit_conversion.htm

Here it is. So the syllabes have no 'a’s in the original text?

3 Likes
6

Each letter/consonant in Devanāgarī has an implied “a” vowel (a schwa) unless otherwise marked.

3 Likes
7

@lemon - I noticed this is only part 1 of a series of 4. I have not read through the whole thing but the answer might be in one of the other parts.

2 Likes
8

Bhante, I check the words in the Gatha these 2 days. I don’t think the other parts would contain its meaning, because the gatha itself is like a menu of Mahavira’s teaching.
I translated the gatha in about 80% accuracy:

paṃceva atthikāyā chajjīva ṇikāyā mahavvayā paṃca|
aṭṭhayapavayaṇa-mādā saheuo baṃdha-mokkho ya||

For the desirous of five, of six groups of lives, through the five major vows;
And eight fundamental sermons of delight, the binding would be released.

These 2 pages are quite useful:


https://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/jaingloss.html

Meanings of words in the gahta (all found in google):

paṃceva: five

atthikāyā: desirous of

chajjīva ṇikāyā: six groups of lives
Sat-jiva-nikaya The six kinds of living beings, namely, the five ekendriyas and the trasa (Sat: Being)
Types of Kaya (Bodies)
Prthvikaya Jiva - Class of beings whose body is made up of the Earth. They fall under the category of One-sensed beings.
JalaKaya Jiva - Class of beings whose body is made up of water. They fall under the category of One-sensed beings.
Agnikaya Jiva - Class of beings whose body is made up of fire. They fall under the category of One-sensed beings.
Vayukaya Jiva - Class of beings whose body is made up of air. They fall under the category of One-sensed beings.
Vanaspatikaya Jiva - Class of beings whose body is made up of vegetation. They fall under the category of One-sensed beings.
Trasakaya Jiva - Class of beings who are mobile. They fall under the category of two-sensed, three-sensed, four-sensed, and five-sensed beings.

panca-mahavvaya: the five major vows
Devout Jains take five main vows: ahiṃsā (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (not stealing), brahmacharya (celibacy or chastity or sexual continence), and aparigraha (non-possessiveness).

aṭṭha pavayaṇa: eight fundamentals/sermons
The Quintessence of Sermons ( Pavayaṇa-sāra ;
In the Jain discourse the set of the three protections is often associated with the set of the five precautions (Pk. samii, Sk. samiti). These two categories form the eight fundamentals ( aṭṭha pavayaṇa -māyāo, Utt. 24.1ff.) which summarize Jain ethics.

mādā:
māda, m. (√2. mad) drunkenness, exhilaration, delight. passion, stupor L. ; fighting war Sāy. (cf. gandha- and sadha-m°). ► p. 808a

saheuo: TBC

baṃdha:
बाँध • (bā̃dh) m (Urdu spelling باندھ‎)
dam (on a river or water body)
इस इलाक़े की कौनसी नदी पर बाँध बनाया जा रहा है?
is ilāqe kī kaunsī nadī par bā̃dh banāyā jā rahā hai?
On which river is the dam being built in this region?
barricade
binding, fastening

mokkho:
English Emancipation, liberation, release
Sanskrit मोक्ष
(IAST: mokṣa)
Bengali মোক্ষ
(mokkho)

2 Likes