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EPISTEMOLOGY OF THE AGAMAS
[CH.
all substances with all their modes. Nothing remains unknown in omniscience.2 Umäsvāti quotes an opinion that maintained that on the emergence of kevala the other four kinds of knowledge viz. mati, śruta etc. are overpowered much in the same way as the other luminaries of the sky are overpowered on the appearance of the sun in the firmament, but himself supports the view that they are absolutely impossible in the omniscient on the ground that the kevala is due to the total destruction while the other four are due only to the destruction-cumsubsidence of the jñānavaraṇa-karman. Total destruction bars the possibility of destruction-cum-subsidence.3
The Jainas hold that each and every entity is related to all entities other than itself in the universe in some relation or other. These relations are called paryayas (modes) of the entity. In order to know an entity completely, these relations or paryayas are to be completely known. And hence it follows that the complete knowledge of one entity involves the complete knowledge of other entities as well. If the relations are real and if it is also possible to know these relations, it logically follows that omniscience is possible. Omniscience is perfectly consistent with the Jaina conception of emergence of knowledge as the removal of veil. As realists the Jainas believe in relations as objective links that relate each and every entity with all that is other than the entity. Symbolically, the relations are links between A and the contents of not-A. This means that the complete knowledge of A implies the complete knowledge of not-A and this is obviously the knowledge of the whole universe. In other words, the perfect knowledge of one entity means the perfect knowledge of all entities. This has been very characteristically expressed by the Acaranga in the following terms: One who knows one knows all, and one who knows all knows one.4
There is no controversy regarding the nature of kevala among the different Jaina thinkers, and so we do not state their views separately.
JNANA AND DARSANA
Upayoga (consciousness) is the defining characteristic of a soul." This upayoga can be sākāra 'determinate' as well as anākāra 'indeterminate'." The former is called jñana and the latter darśana.'
1 See TSũ, I. 30 with Bhāṣya; see also Nir, 77.
2 na ca kevala-jñāna-viṣayāt param kiñcij jñeyam asti-TSuBh, I. 30.
3 kṣayopaśamajāni catvāri jñānāni purvāņi, kṣayad eva tu kevalam. tasmān
na kevalinaḥ śeṣāņi jñānāni bhavanti 'ti.-TSuBh, I. 31.
4 je egam jāņai se savvam jāņai, je savvam jāņai se egam jāņai—ĀSū, I. 3. 4 also see ViBh, 320 and the Bṛhadvṛtti.
See BhSu, II. 10; TSū, II. 8.
See BhSu, XVI. 7; TS, II. 9 and Bhasya.
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7 See TSuBh on II. 9.
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