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philosophical treatises that Lord Mahavira is known to have produced. Acaranga sutra mainly deals with the nature of soul. There Mahavira says that atma (soul) is that which knows. The salient features of the jiva according to Jainism is to know and act of knowing is called as upayoga. Upayoga (functional consciousness) : the Defining Characterstic of Soul
The words upayoga (functional consciousness) and cetana (consciousness) are used parallelly by Jain scholars. Detailed descriptions of both are available in Jain texts.
The terms Сetana (consciousness) and Upayoga (functional consciousness) have been distinguished by Kundakunda (1st Cent. A.D.) as one to be an attribute and the later to be a mode. The definition of the soul (jiva) as usually found in terms of cetana (consciousness) is therefore based on the substantial stand point, which integrates upayoga (functional consciousness) in it. In fact functional consciousness is concomitant with intrinsic nature of jiva.
Bhagavati Sutra has given six terms in the first instance and twenty three literal terms later, specifying these characteristics though there seems to be duplications because of similar meanings of terms it is seen that most of the synonyms represent observable properties. Only three seems to be non-observable. Bhagavati also mentions characteristics of weight, size, metabolism, irritability, growth, reproduction and adaptation of living. In contrast Kundakunda has described seventeen attributes of living but it has some difference as it assumes non-materiality etc., as characteristics of life which Bhagavati do not mention. At the same time Veda and vigya' are the terms of Bhagavai with the meaning leading to consciousness. The same is true when kundakunda used two terms cetana and upayoga having similar meanings. Umaswati (1*' Cent. A.D.) followed the tradition of Kundakunda defining jiva which has been divided in two aphorisms as follows uaogalakkhanam jiva'. Functional consciousness is the characteristic of living being.
Apart from the above said descriptions of the main texts, there exists eloberate explanation found about the nature of jiva in commentaries too. In Tattvartha Rajavartika (720 A.D.) consciousness is explained as the very nature of the living beings. jivasvabhavascetana. Here upayoga means the act of knowledge and upayoga subsists in cetana
