भगवती आराधना में वर्णित द्वादश भावनाओं का स्वरूप
By डॉ. हीरालाल जैन, डॉ. राजेन्द्रकुमार बंसल
Summary
The text discusses "Bhagavati Aradhana," a significant work by Acharya Shivarya/Shivakoti, which extensively covers monastic conduct. It contains 2179 verses and forty sections, describing the four types of spiritual practice: right faith, right knowledge, right conduct, and right austerity. The work poetically addresses various topics including doctrine, ethics, meditation, and the monastic path. Multiple commentaries exist, including the Vijayodayi commentary by Aparajitasuri and works by Pandit Ashadhara and others. While some scholars have identified the text with the Yapaniya sect, Professor Ratanchandra Jain has established it as belonging to the Digambara tradition. The text focuses on the twelve contemplations (dvadasha bhavana), which are part of the fourth type of religious meditation (sthana-vichaya dhyana). These contemplations are described in 157 verses (1724-1881) and are intended to inspire renunciation in practitioners fearful of worldly suffering. The twelve contemplations are: 1) impermanence (anitya), 2) helplessness (asharana), 3) solitude (ekatva), 4) separateness (anyatva), 5) the cycle of existence (samsara), 6) the universe (loka), 7) impurity (ashuchitva), 8) influx of karma (asrava), 9) stoppage of karma (samvara), 10) shedding of karma (nirjara), 11) dharma, and 12) enlightenment (bodhi). The first contemplation, impermanence, describes how divine and human existences are fleeting like foam, wealth is like a dream, and sensory pleasures are unstable like lightning. Relationships, youth, strength, and possessions are all temporary. The second contemplation, helplessness, explains that no one can provide refuge from the effects of karma. When negative karma arises, no medicine, mantra, or deity can offer protection; only right faith, knowledge, conduct,
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Conclusion
The analysis of the *Bhagavati Aradhana* and its twelve contemplations yields a critical outcome for Jain ascetic practice: these reflections are not merely doctrinal exercises but essential tools for dismantling attachment and ensuring spiritual progress. By systematically confronting the impermanence of all worldly connections, the futility of seeking external refuge, and the solitary nature of karmic responsibility, the text provides a pragmatic pathway to genuine renunciation. The implication is clear—without internalizing these contemplations, a practitioner risks falling into a state of "nishchayabhasa" (false certainty), leading to negative rebirths. Thus, the document establishes that sustained meditation on these twelve themes is indispensable for achieving the purity of conduct and insight necessary for liberation, directly linking contemplative discipline to the ultimate outcome of moksha.