जै · The Jain Encyclopedia
Prātihārya · the divine sound

Divya-dhvani

दिव्यध्वनि

The preaching itself, heard by each hearer in their own language.

The claim is not that the Tīrthaṅkara speaks many languages but that one sound is understood by everyone present, including the animals on the deck below.

It is the answer to a problem the seating raises: an assembly of gods, humans and beasts needs a speech that does not have to choose an audience.

The Digambara tradition holds that the sound is inarticulate and is rendered into words by the chief disciple. That is a real divergence and is marked as one.

123456789101112NESWconveyancesconveyancesanimalsanimalswho sits where1Vaimānika devasasaṅkhyāta2Śrāvakasenumerable3Śrāvikāsenumerable4Sādhusenumerable5Vaimānika devīsasaṅkhyāta6Sādhvīsenumerable7Bhavanapati devīsasaṅkhyāta8Jyotiṣka devīsasaṅkhyāta9Vyantara devīsasaṅkhyāta10Bhavanapati devasasaṅkhyāta11Jyotiṣka devasasaṅkhyāta12Vyantara devasasaṅkhyātathe fourfold saṅghadiffers for each Jinaeight classes of godsasaṅkhyātathe decks belowthe animals that came to hearthe animals that carried people hereThe Tīrthaṅkara faces east. Three madeimages stand in the other directions,so no company sees a back.1 yojana across · 4 kosthe tree above the throne is 3 kos —twelve times the Tīrthaṅkara's height1 yojana across · 4 kosNuttaraEpūrvaSdakṣiṇaWpaścima
The Samavasaraṇa — Divya-dhvani highlighted

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One ofthe eight prātihārya
Heardeach in their own language

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समयं गोयम! मा पमायए

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

Uttarādhyayana Sūtra 10