Jaina Epistemology

SR No.: 006738
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Indra Chandra Shastri
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith
Publication Year: 1990
Total Pages: 516
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 21 MB

Page 100

The General Conception of Knowledge
75
bangle etc. which it undergoes. In the same way dravya is not different from its paryāyas and guņas.
Difference between Guna and Paryāya : Uttarādhyayana makes the distinction between guna and paryāya by stating that guņas exist in the dravya only, while the paryāya exists in dravya as well as guņas.2 Consciousness is the guņa of a jīva. It is found in all the jīvas. The different states of men, beasts, etc. are the paryāyas. They are related with Dravya. But the different forms of cognition also are paryāyas. They belong to a guņa i.e. consciousness. Similarly the qualities of colour etc. are guņas, found in the pudgala dravya. The different forms of jar, cloth etc. are paryāyas of the same dravya. But, the different shades of colour etc. are paryāyas of guņa.
The difference between guna and paryāya can be further explained in this way. A golden jar and an earthen jar are. different from each other in respect of gunas. In respect of the paryāya they are identical. On the other hand the successive states of gold as a ring and as a bangle are different from each other in respect of paryāya and identical in respect of guna. Guņas are related with the qualities of the stuff, which is the material cause of a thing. Paryāyas are different forms of the same stuff. The above example should be taken as a rough estimate only. The difference between earth and gold can be explained as the difference in paryāya also, if pudgala is taken as dravya. The above consideration holds good only when gold and earth are taken as dravyas. The distinction between these two things does not depend upon their forms, which are paryāyas, but on their natural qualities.
The Above Difference is only Relative : In contrast with dravya, guna and paryāya both stand as differentia. Guņa distinguishes one dravya from the other dravya and paryāya distinguishes one state from the other state occurring succe1. Dravyagunaparyāyanorāsa 1.28 2. Uttarā. XXVIII, 7.