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A SOURCE-BOOK IN JAINA PHILOSOPHY
the threshold is crossed. That stage is arthāvagraha. Arthāvagraha is the experience of sensation, while vyañjanāvagraha is the earlier stage of physiological stimulus condition. The Nandisutra has beautifully explained this point in the example given above. The illustration is called mallaka drsțānta. Vyañjanāvagraha is a condition of arthāv. agraha, which is the stage of sensation. The presence of vyanjanavagraha may be admitted as a condition of arthāvagraha although it is explicit not because of its undeveloped existence, 8
Avagraha has also been distinguished from the logical point of view as vyāvahārika avagraha and naisargika avagraha. Naisargika avagraha grasps as the generality without distinction. But vyāvahārika avagraha experiences the generality with the distinctions implicit. Avagraha has been described with some equivalent expressing its modes like avagrahaņatā, upadhāraṇatā, śravaṇatā, avalambanatā and medhā. Tattvārthabhāşya mentions the following synonymous terms like avagraha, graha, grahaņa, ālocana and avdhāraņa.5 Şațkhaņdāgama mentions the following as the equivalents, avagraha, avadhāna, sāna, avalambanā and medha.
Avagraha is the sensational stage and that does not give the knowledge of the nature of the object. It only gives awareness of that and does not explain the "what'. The complete psychosis of perceptual cognition would be possible when we experience the other three stages of perceptual process than īhā, avāya and dhāraṇā. In this sense, our empirical experience will not complete with avagraha. Avagraha is not self-sufficient. Arthāvagraha is mere sensation which lasts only for only one instance. It immediately transforms itself into more specific cognition, i. e., īhā.
1 Nandīsūtra 34 2 Jaina tarkabhaşā, p. 3, 3 Višeşāvasyaka bhāsya 196. 4 Nandīsūtra 51 p. 22, Punyavijayaji. 5 Tattvārtha bhāşya 1, 15. 6 Şațkhaņdāgama 13, 5. 5 sūtra 37 p. 242
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