Concept of Paryaya in Jain Philosophy

Author(s): S R Bhatt, Jitendra B Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 73

Paryaya : A Doctrine of Parinama 61 Dravya is endowed with the quality of sat and is characterised by the three potent factors - origination, destruction and permanence and is the substratum of qualities and modes4. Dravya is not absolutely changeless and its paryayas are not discrete. There is a series of paryayas in a dravya having a relation of relative identity between the previous paryaya and the posterior paryaya like the relation of cause continuum and effect- continuum5. Dravya retains its essential nature in the midst of series of changes which take place in it. Therefore reality (dravya) is dynamic in nature and does always undergo transformation without giving up its essential nature. In this way it is conceived that dravya is characterised by the process of transformation?. Acarya Kundkunda explains that dravya is the inherent essence of all things, manifesting itself in and through infinite modifications, and is endowed with gunas and it reveals permanence and change in it to be real'. And dravya is endowed with its unchanging nature of existence'. Acarya Pujyapada defines dravya as that which undergoes modification. As for example take a piece of god. When an ornament is made out of it, the original lump of gold undergoes modification having its original form destroyed (vyaya) and a new form born or produced (utpada) but the substance of gold continues or persists (dhrauvya) in this process of change. Every substance necessarily possesses the quality of permanency together with origination and decay as modifications of itself1o. Akalanka explains that utpada is the modification of a substance without giving up its own essence, vyaya is the disappearance of its forms and dhrauvya consists in the persistence of its fundamental characteristics throughout its various modifications11. On the basis of above discussion the concept of dravya has been taken as the dynamic reality. Prof. Chakravarti rightly said that it is an identity expressing through difference, a permanency continuing through change. 12 Guna and paryaya Guna is the inseparable property of a dravya. It denotes the capacity or quality of a dravya13. In the Uttaradhyayansutra it is said that dravya is the substratum of gunas and the characteristic of guna is inherent in a dravya14. Umaswati elucidates the definition of guna by saying that gunas are inherent in dravya and they are themselves attributes15. Acarya Kundakunda explains that the condition (capacity), which, in fact, forms the nature of dravya is guna which is non-different