$JES 203 First Step of Jainism Level 2 Book

Author(s): JAINA Education Committee
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee

Page 41

SOUL
Two sensed beings (Beindriya Jiva):
According to Jain Classification one-sense living beings (Ekendriya Jiva) are further classified into the following five subcategories:
a Prithvikäya - Living beings that have
Earth as a body b Apkäya - Living beings that have
Water as a body c Teukäya - Living beings that have Fire
as a body d Väyukäya - Living beings that have
Air as a body e Vanaspati-käya - Living beings that
have Plant as a body
Two sensed beings have the senses of touch and taste. Examples are shells, worms, insects, microbes in stale food, etc. Three sensed beings (Treindriya Jiva)
Three sensed beings have the senses of touch, taste and smell. Examples are bugs, lice, white ants, centipedes, moths, and insects in wheat and other grains, etc. Four sensed beings (Chaurindriya Jiva):
It is well known that plants grow, reproduce, etc., and they are accepted as living beings. Trees, plants, branches, flowers, leaves, and seeds are some examples of plant life. The Sanskrit term for plant is Vanaspati and therefore such Jiva is called Vanaspati-kaya Jiva. Jains also believe that earth, water, fire, and air have life.
All mobile Jivas (Trasa Jivas) are multisensed beings. These two, three, four and five sensed beings are classified into the following categories:
THE FIRST STEP OF JAINISM
41 winter