Doctrines of Jainism

Author(s): Vallabhsuri Smarak Nidhi
Publisher: Vallabhsuri Smarak Nidhi Godiji Jain Derasar Mumbai

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The Doctrines of the Jainas
krtanga (1.4.21), where a Jaina saint is described as a person whose soul is in a pure condition and fully explained in the Uttaradhyayana (XXXIV). The Jaina religious efforts are directed towards the acquisition of pure lesya.1 The black lesya is the worst of the three bad emotions colouring soul. The blue lesya is an emotion which is less evil than the last. The grey lesya may lead men to do evil. A man under its command becomes crooked in thought and deed. The tejo lesya removes all evil thoughts from the jiva under its sway. The padma lesya is good emotion. A man controls anger, pride, deceit and avarice through its power. When a man is under the influence of the white lesya, love and hatred disappear. Black, blue and grey are the three bad emotions; yellow, pink and white are the three good emotions. Cf. Maskarin's division of souls into six colour types (abhijatis) reduced according to the Mahabharata (XII, 279, 33-68) into the Sankhya division of souls in three colour types, viz., the white, the red and the black. Leumann defines lesya as the soul type.
The Panhavagaranaim (Prasna-vyakaranani), also known as the Prasna Vyakaranadasa, which is the tenth anga of the Svetambara Agama, explains the great moral Vows of the Jainas. The first four represented the four principles of self-restraint as prescribed by Parsva for his followers. Although the enumeration of the principles is somewhat different, they are all important to both the Jaina and Buddhist systems. In the Jaina presentation a greater emphasis is laid on the side of the abstinence from impious acts, while in the Buddhist presentation much stress is laid on the positive aspect of virtues. It is not enough that a person abstains from doing a misdeed in 1. Sutrakrtanga, 1.10.15.