The World of Life according to the Jaina Literature

Biological Inter-relationship At first glance the world of living substances (Javadravyas) as revealed in the Jaina works appears to be made up of a bewildering variety of plants and animals, all quite different and each going its separate way at its own pace. A close study of them reveals, however, that all organisms, whether plant

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सिकदार सूत्रकृतांग, भगवती, उत्तराध्ययन, प्रज्ञापना, जीवाभिगम और गोम्मटसार को जीवविज्ञान की दृष्टि से पढ़ते हैं। उनके अनुसार वहाँ वनस्पति और प्राणी आवास, आहार तथा शरीर-रचना के आधार पर वर्गीकृत हैं और पारिस्थितिक एवं वंशगत दोनों रूपों में परस्पर सम्बद्ध हैं; आधुनिक अनुकूलन-सिद्धान्त से तुलना की गई है। Sikdar reads the Jaina Agamas (Sutrakrtanga, Bhagavati, Uttaradhyayana, Prajnapana, Jivabhigama, Gommatasara) as biology. Plants and animals, he argues, are classified there by habitat, nutrition and bodily structure, and are interrelated both ecologically and by descent, a scheme he sets beside modern accounts of adaptation and environment.

Written by the archive’s cataloguers, not by the author.