________________
Soul Science: Samayasära by Jain Acarya Kundakunda
155
Sat dravyalakṣaṇam
(Tattvärthasutra 5.29)
Utpada-vyaya-dhrauvya-yuktam sat.
(Tattvärthasütra 5.30)
Meaning: That which is Sat is Dravya (substance), and that which is associated with the creation, destruction and permanence is called Sat.
It may be noted that each unit of Dravya is Sat. Therefore, each unit of Dravya is eternal, and even in a single unit of Dravya there is a continuous change in the states of the Dravya. This continuous change in the states of a Dravya is recognized as the destruction of the old state and the creation of the
new state.
Six kinds of Dravya
In all there are six kinds of Dravya: (1) Jiva (2) Pudgala (3) Dharma (4) Adharma (5) Ākāśa (6) Kāla. It may be noted that this number (six) gives the number of kinds of Dravya, not the total number of Dravya, i.e., the total number of Dravya in this cosmos is not six. Since each soul is one Dravya, each Pudgala Paramāņu is one Dravya, there are infinite number of Dravya in this cosmos.
Jiva (soul) means an eternal substance having special attributes of perception, knowledge, etc.
Pudgala Dravya (Pudgala Paramāņu) means an eternal substance having special attributes of color, taste, smell, and touch. As mentioned earlier, each Pudgala Paramāņu is one Pudgala Dravya.
Akāśa Dravya signifies space. As per definition of a Dravya, Äkäŝa Dravya is also eternal. It was never created by anybody and would never vanish. The Akāśa Dravya has a special attribute of accommodating all other Dravya.
In one part of Akāśa, in addition to the Akasa itself all other Dravya also reside. Such part of Akäsa is known as Lokākāśa (see Diagram A.1). Within Lokākāśa in the highest region, Siddha reside. This region where Siddha reside is called Siddhälaya. The volume of Lokākāśa is 343 cubic Raju. (The Raju is a unit of length. How many light years are equal to one Raju? The answer of this question needs a deeper study and research.)
