Philosophy In Jain Agams: Apkāya (Water bodied beings)

The living beings of water itself are called apkāya. The living beings whose body is water are called apkāyika beings. Water-bodied beings are also very subtle in nature. The senses cannot acknowledge them. For establishing existence of soul in them and for convincing people who are not capable of direct perception, the sūtra asserts that there are water-bodied beings. The person, possessed of the power of direct or supra-sensory perception, can know them directly. If you cannot know them yourself, you should understand them by means of the counsel of persons who are endowed with the power of direct knowledge. After knowing the truth in this way, you should not induce any kind of fear in those beings.^[1]

Use of Logic for Establishing the Existence of the Soul in Apkāya

It is very difficult to understand the nature of water-bodied beings, because it is said that they neither hear, nor see, or smell, or taste, nor are they found to feel pleasure and pain; neither there is a throb of life in them, nor we see respiration. Then, why should they be considered as possessed of souls? Although the reply to this query is available through the preaching of omniscients, the commentator of Ācārāṅga Niryukti has also provided some logic to prove it. Just as the body of an elephant embryo at the time of conception, and the egg yolk are both sentient liquids, exactly so the water-bodied beings are sentient.^[2] The commentator of Ācārāṅga tries to prove the life in water through the process of water formation accepted in modern science.

'This problem can also be considered from the stand point of science. Scientists do not admit the production of water in the absence of oxygen. Doesn't this necessity of oxygen in order to produce water prove that there is soul in water?^[3] The water bodied beings also have breathing, leshya and knowledge like Pṛthvīkāya. Their feelings of sufferings have been explained through the examples of pṛithvikāya. Ācārāṅga has presented the existence of life in water bodied living beings in an empathetic manner. Its slogan is - the one, who rejects the existence of water bodied living beings, rejects the existence of his own soul.^[4] In the Jain Agamic literature, there is a detailed discussion on the types, life span etc. of earth and water bodied beings. From the biological branch of study' there may be a need of an independent research work on this subject.

Weapons of Injury for Water bodied beings

There are many varieties of weapons that kill the water-bodied beings. In the Ācārāṅga Niryukti^[5], those weapons are as follows:

1. Utsecana - Drawing out water from a well by means of a vessel.
2. Gālana - Straining through a thick smooth piece of cloth.
3. Dhāvana - Washing cloth, pot, etc.
4. Svakāya śastra - The river water is the weapon of pond water. (Here the weapon is   homogeneous).
5. Parakāya śastra - Earth, soil, alkali, fire, etc., are the weapons of water-bodied beings. (Here the weapon is heterogeneous).
6. Tadubhaya śastra - Earth mixed with water is the weapon of the water-bodied beings. (Here, the weapon is a mixture of homogeneous and heterogeneous instruments of destruction).

The Ācārāṅga Cūrṇi mentions some other varieties of weapons also, such as, change produced in colour, taste, smell and touch. For instance, water when heated becomes slightly brown in colour, smoky in smell, insipid in taste, and hot in touch. The imperfectly boiled water is not lifeless. Salty, sweet and acidic water are mutually weapons. The dingy water is usually inanimate.^[6]

Regarding water's life and lifelessness, there has been a deep and detailed discussion in the Jain āgamic literature. Under the practice of a monk's vow of non-violence, this topic relatively gets noteworthy attention for a detailed and deep discussion as it is available in the āgamas.