________________
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 Vi
10 Svaya bh Originates and develops by itself.
11
With a body.
12
With spatial extensions.
13
Built of and by knowledge.
14
Gets born in the four destinies i.e. hellish, human, sub-human, heaven.
With the passion - pride.
With the passion - deceit.
Owner of the activities of mind, body and speech.
Contracts in a small body
Expands to a very large body.
Capable of knowing all territories in the cosmos.
Stays inside the eight matter karmas.
15
Jñ t
Kart
Bhokt
Vakt
Sakt
Pri
16
ar r
Mn
My v
17
Yog
18
Sa ku a
19 Asa ku a
20 K etrajña
21 Antar tm
Deh
M nava
Jant
Knower or one who knows.
Doer of its own nature; from practical viewpoint doer of its matter acts.
Enjoyer of its own nature; from practical viewpoint enjoyer of its matter acts.
Speaker or who speaks.
Infatuated with the body, family, friends and worldly possessions.
Has forces / capabilities of breathe, sense organs, lifespan and general energy. Co-exists in the entire body it owns.
The above synonyms in fact indicate the attributes of j va as per Jain texts.
4. Etymological development of the words j va and tm and their special meaning.[7] Even though there are numerous synonyms of the words soul and living beings in Jain texts, yet the most commonly words are j va and tm. Therefore we shall attempt o understand the meanings and significance of these two words specifically. J va in Jain literature has been described as the one who lives, lived in the past and shall live in the future namely:
P ehi cad hi jv dij vissadi jo hi j vido puvva
[8]
Da asu pr e u yathop ttapr apary yena tri u k le uj van nubhavan tj vati, aj vait, j vi yati eti v jvah. [9]
Etymological development and meaning of the word tm is said to be an entity that always manifests (transform, changes, originates and destroys) as knowledge. tm in Sanskrit formed with the syllable 'ata' (ata s tatyagamane) having two meanings namely to go and knowledge and both are applicable here.
5. Understanding the nature of soul by its nine attributes / characteristics.
To present a lucid description of j va, Jain c ryas have used the nine characteristics of j va. c rya Nemi Candra Sindhanta Deva (11th century AD) in his text Dravya Sa graha has explained all these nine characteristics in thirteen verses (g th s). These nine characteristics are very briefly given below:
Page 187 of 556
STUDY NOTES version 4.0
