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We may consider in brief the nature of 5 types of knowledge:
1. Matijñana (sense experience) is arrived at with the help of sense organs and the mind. In the Agamic literature it has been called abhinibhodika Jñana.48 Viseṣavasyakabhasya mentions the equivalent terms for matijñana: Iha, apoha, vimarșa, margaṇa, gaveśana, samjña, smṛti, mati, prajña, etc.49 Nandisutra also mentions equivelent words for matijñāna. Matijñana may be referred to as knowledge arrived at through the operations of the sense organs and the mind. Mind is a quasi-sense organ. Without the help of the mind it would not be possible to get the full knowledge of an object.
Study of Jainism
Sense experience is possible with the help of the sense organs and the mind. The sense organs receive stimulations and mind organises the stimulations. These two are physiological and psychic conditions of perceptions. But that is not sufficient. We have also to remove some psychic impediments which affect the nature of perception. These impediments are the knowledge and sense obscuring karma. Through the subsidence and distruction of the knowledge obscuring karma we can get perception. This is the psychic condition, wherein by removing the psychic impediments as mental set is prepared which is necessary for perceptual experience.
According to Jainas sense perception can be analysed into four stages: 1) avagraha 2) iha 3) avaya and 4) dharaṇa. In the Nandisutra we get the analysis of the four stages.50 Avagraha is the first stages of sense experience. It is analogous to sensation. In the Avasyaka Niryukti, avagraha has been defined as awareness of the sense data.51 Jinabhadra describes avagraha as undeterminate perception, and avaya is the higher stage. It is more appropriate to say that avagraha is mere awareness, mere cognition of the object without the knowledge of the specific nature of the object nor of its name.52 Nandisūtra makes a distinction of the two levels of avagraha as vyañjanāvagraha and arthāvagraha. Vyañjanavagraha is the earlier stage in which there is physiological stimulus condition of the sensation, of the immediate experience. Nandisūtra gives the example of Mallakadṛṣṭanta.58 Vyañjanavagraha is,
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