International Journal of Jaina Studies
On the Medical Doctrines in the Tandulaveyāliya: 1. Teachings of Embryology
Author: Colette Caillat. Translated from the French by Brianne Donaldson
Year: 2018
ISSN: 1748-1074
International Journal of Jaina Studies (Online) Vol. 14, No. 1 (2018) 1-14
In this translated essay, originally published in French, Colette Caillat offers an analysis of the Tandulaveyāliya, one of the diverse Prakīrṇaka-sūtras in the Svetāmbara Jain canon. This unique medical treatise fuses ancient Jain teachings found in the Bhagavatī-sūtra (Pkt. Viyāhapannatti) andSūtrakṛtānga-sūtra (Pkt. Sūyagaḍaṅga) with more contemporary Indian medical treatises such as the Caraka- and Suśruta-saṃhitās, offering greater detail on the formation of embryos—including maternal/paternal contributions, gender, nutrition, and stages of development, as well as the difficulty of pregnancy.
Water Clock and Steelyard in the Jyotiṣkaraṇḍaka
Author: Sreeramula Rajeswara Sarma
Year: 2018
ISSN: 1748-1074
International Journal of Jaina Studies (Online) Vol. 14, No. 2 (2018) 1-49
Saṃkhyā-jñāna, the science of numbers, plays an important role in Jainism which seeks to comprehend the universe numerically. Kāla-jñāna or kāla-vibhāga is an important part of saṃkhyā-jñāna, for time too has to be comprehended in numbers. The Jainas measured time conceptually in microscopic units and in macroscopic units, but for practical purposes, early Jain texts like the Sūrya-prajñapti employ a five-year cycle and provide diverse kinds of astronomical parameters for this period.
A related Jain text Jyotiṣkaraṇḍaka introduces an interesting variation into the time measurement and speaks of the “volume” and “weight” of the time. In this context, the text describes two tools of measurement, a water clock and a steelyard, i.e. a balance with a single pan. Descriptions of such instruments are rare in Indian literature; this paper presents a cultural study of these two measuring instruments.