जै · The Jain Encyclopedia
One samaya, straight up

Ṛju-gati

ऋजुगति

Freed, the soul goes up in one samaya, in a straight line, without a turn, and stops at the end of the universe. It is the only journey in the atlas with no corners.

A soul between births travels on the lines of space and may turn up to three corners - that is vigraha-gati, already drawn. The liberated soul turns none: from the place of nirvāṇa on the middle band straight to the loka's end, one samaya, ṛju, straight. The Tattvārthasūtra gives four reasons and four likenesses for the going, and one reason for the stopping: beyond the loka there is no medium of motion.

The height it reaches is the crown: above Siddhaśilā, in the last yojana of the loka, in a region 333⅓ dhanuṣ deep - two-thirds of the tallest body, which is the extent a bodiless soul keeps. That is where it stays.

One samaya, straight upTattvārthasūtra 10.5–7: the freed soul rises to the loka's end, without a turnit stops because the medium of motion stops, not because anything is in the wayaloka - space, and nothing elselokānta - the medium of motion endsthe siddhas: 333⅓ dhanuṣSiddhaśilāthe place of nirvāṇaone samaya, straight upŚAILEŚĪ · THE FOURTEENTH RUNGaiufive short vowels: the only clock the texts give itTHE FOUR LIKENESSES · TATTVĀRTHASŪTRA 10.7the potter's wheelpūrva-prayoga · the impulse already given keeps it turningthe gourd freed of its clayasaṅga · nothing clings, so it comes up through the waterthe castor seed from its podbandha-cheda · the bond cut, it springsthe flametathā-gati-pariṇāma · its nature is to go upTHE SIDDHA'S EXTENT - AVAGĀHANĀ: TWO-THIRDS OF THE LAST BODY, A REGION PERVADED, NOT A BODYṚṣabhanātha · 500 dhanuṣ → 333⅓ dhanuṣMahāvīra · 7 hāth → 4⅔ hāththe two bars are not to one scale; the descent chapter draws that ratio
One samaya, straight up - Ṛju-gati highlighted

Measurements and counts

Duration1 samaya
Pathstraight - no turn
Fromthe place of nirvāṇa, in the human world
Tothe loka's end, above Siddhaśilā
SourceTattvārthasūtra 10.5

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समयं गोयम! मा पमायए

Do not be heedless, Gautama, for even a single samaya.

Uttarādhyayana Sūtra 10