Jain Glossary –I

Abadhakala

It refers to the duration of time between the bondage of the karma and the fruition of the karma i.e., the potential state of the karmic effect.

Abhigrahika

It is the state of mine, which is dogmatic, and which affirms that a particular view is right and all other are wrong.  It is the form of mithyatva or dogmatic assertion.

Abhigrahita

It is the mithyatva or perversity of belief, which is acquired due to the teaching of others.

Addhasamaya

It refers to time or the indivisible part of time.

Adharma

The unrighteous attitude which is responsible for the downfall of the soul in the spiritual path.

Adharmadravya

Principle of rest.

Adhigama

Sense experience of the objects.

Adholoka

The lower world.

Adhruvabandhini

It refers to the psychic attitude by which there is the possibility of bondage or there may not be any bondage of any karma.

Adhruvodaya

The rise of the satavedaniya karma etc., on subsequent occasions due to the non-destructions of the previous dispositions.

Agama

It is testimony of an authority that is pure and perfect.  It is aptavacana.

Agurulaghu

It refers to the absence of the two characteristics of heaviness and lightness.

Agurulaghuguna

It is the characteristic, which expresses neither the lightness nor the heaviness as in the case of the characteristics of the soul.  It is infinite in character.

Ajiva

Non-living substance.

Ajnana

Ignorance due to the perversity of attitude which arises due to the rise of jnanavaraniya karma.

Akamanirjara

It refers to the removal of karmic particles by actions like--fasting, celibacy, sleeping on the floor...etc, not voluntarily but out of compulsion as in the case of a man who is imprisoned and who has no undergo these hardships.

Akarmabhumi

The world where there is no activity like agriculture, writing...etc.

Akasa

It is space.  It accommodates the substances like jiva, dharma, adharma, pudgala and kala.

Aloka

It is space beyond the world.  It is the limitless space.

Anabhigrahita mithyatva

Mithyatva is the perversity of attitude, which arises due to wrong teaching and due to the clinging of wrong teaching.

Anabhigrahita mithyatva

This is the perversity of attitude, which arises due to the belief that all other views, and theories are equally true.

Anakaropayoga

Indeterminate upayoga i.e. Darsanopayoga.

Ananta

Endless or infinite.  For instance, kevalajnana is ananta.

Anantanubandhi

It is a process by which samyagdarsana is withheld and if the right knowledge has already arisen it vanishes.  It is an endless series of the expressions of passions or kasaya or emotional states.

Anantavirya

Infinite energy of the soul.

Anapavartaniya

It refers to the exhaustion of ayukarma as per schedule without any decrease in the duration or intensity.  The ayukarma of this life is determined due to the previous karma needs to be completely exhausted.

Anekanta

The many sided approach to reality.

Anikacita

It is contrary to nikacita in which the processes of utkarsana (increase), apakarsana (decrease) and sankramana (transformation) of karmic matter are possible.

Antaraya Karma

Karma which determines and obstructs the inherent energy of the soul.  For instance, it obstructs the activity of giving alms etc.

Antyasthula

Ultimate vastness for graspness.  This refers to the entire cosmos and the matter of the cosmos.

Antyasuksma

The ultimate subtlety which is to be found in the atom.

Anu

An atom.

Apakarsana

Decrease in the intensity of the karmic effect.

Apavartana

It is the transformation or the decrease in the states and intensities of the effects of bondage.

Apavartana sankramana

It is the process of the reduction of the experience and the effects of the karmic intensities.

Apavartya

It is the premature realization of the ayukarma as in the case of death by accident or poisoning.

Apratipati

It is a form of avadhijnana (clairvoyance) which lasts upto the kevalajnana (omniscience).

Apratyakhyana kasaya

It refers to the kasayas or passions which inhibit the expression of right conduct of a householder i.e., sravaka.

Ardhamagadhi bhasa

It is the ancient language spoken half the part of the Magadhadesa and it included the 18 dialects.

Arthanaya

It is that point of view or naya, which is different from vyanjana and is distinguished from the other characteristics like gender, number, time and agency.

Arthavagraha

It is determinate confessional stage in which there is the awareness of the sensation.

Arupi

Formless matter.  It has no characteristics of sabda (sound), rupa (form), rasa (taste), gandha (smell) and sparsa (touch).

Astikaya

It refers to the five substances, they are; jiva, pudgala, dharma, adharma and akasa, because the space points of this substance signify the collective nature or they are in collection.

Atyantabhava

Absolute negation; for example, the sky flower or the son of barren women or horns of a rabbit.

Audarikasarira

It refers to the gross body because 'udara' means gross.

Audayika bhava

It is the state of mind with reference to the effective state origination from the rise of the karmic matter.

Avagraha

It is a sensational stage of experience.

Avasthita (dravya

It refers to the substance like pudgala which has a determinate space points, dharma, adharma, lokakasa and jiva have infinite number of space points while pudgala and alokakasa have endless space points.  These substances never go beyond their space points hence they re called Avasthita.

Avaya (apaya

It refers to the stage of perceptual experience (indriya pratyaksa).  It is perceptual judgement.

Avigrahagati

Direct movement of soul.  Vigraha means obstruction or uneven direction.  The jiva in its movement gets uneven direction due to certain obstructions and that is called vigrahagati.  Contrary to this is direct movement, it is called rjugati.  So the direct movement of jiva for one samaya is also mentioned as avigrahagati.

Avipaka nirjara

It refers to the karmic matter, which arises prematurely due to certain spiritual efforts, and the karma is destroyed, just as a mango fruit is prematurely ripened by artificial methods.

Chadmastha

Chadma means jnanavarana and darsanavarana karma.  The jiva who lives in the state of these two karmas is Chadmastha.

Darsana

It refers to the belief or faith.

Dharana (Retention

It is condition of recollection also.  It is an element in avagraha.

Dharma dravya

Dharma as substance, it is the principle of motion.

Dhrauvya

It refers to the duration or permanence of the aspect of the substance.

Dik

It refers to direction in space.

Dravya (Substance

It is the shelter of attributes and modes.  It has origination, destruction and permanence.  It is eternal.

Dravya niksepa

It is the understanding of the nature of the object from the point of view of substance based on the dialectical considerations.

Dravyastika naya

It is the point of view of substance.

Drstivada

The twelfth Holy Scripture (Anga) of Jainas.  In it the elements with their modes etc., were vividly described.

Dvesa

Hatred, krodha-anger, mana-ego, arati-dislike and fear are expressions of dvesa.

Ekatva pratyabhijnana

It is recognition in which perceptual judgement and the recollection are synthesized.  In this form of experience we recognize an object as the one, which has been experienced or seen in the past, and say it is the 'same'.

Evambhutanaya

It is the point of view, which refers to the sabdanaya, and it refers to the functional use of the term.

Iha

 It is a stage of sensation.  It may be called associative integration by which are stimulations are received and organized.

Indriya

Sense organs through which sense-experience is possible, due to the contact of the sense organs and the manas.

Iryapathakriya

Irya means yoga (activity).  The karmic flow, which is accrued due to one type of activity, is called Iryapathakarma and activity is called Iryapathakriya.

Isvara

The perfect soul which has attained kevalajnana and which has reached the highest stage of perfection is called Isvara.

Jina

One who has conquered the feelings of attachment and aversion and all the four types of passions.  He is free from 18 types of defects.

Kala (Time

The Jaina theory of kala gives a realistic picture of kala as an independent category.  It is mono-dimensional and therefore it is not an astikaya.

Karma

It is the technical term, which refers to the after effect of reactivity.  The Jaina theory of karma explains karma in terms of karmic particles and makes distinction in the karma as of eight types.  Similarly, the karmic effect may be wholesome or may be bad.  Jainas have given a scientific theory of karma.

Karmana Sarira

It is the karmic body, is very subtle, and is responsible for the various karmic effects.

Kasaya

It arises due to karmic influx.  The kasayas are the root cause of birth and death that is cycle of transmigration.

Kevala darsana

Omniscient intuitive knowledge.

Kevalajnana

Omniscient perfect knowledge.

Ksaya

Destruction of karma.

Lesya

A specific theory of the Jainas which says that the soul gets color due to radiation from various activities.

Naigama naya

The point of view which has a purpose or an end.

Nama niksepa

It refers to the understanding of a thing by mean of its name, i.e., proper names without reference to their nature.  It is the dialectical process.

Naraka

The nether world where hellish beings reside.

Naya

A point of view.

Nica gotra

The lower and miserable state of an individual with reference to its individual and social status.

Nidhatta

It is the state of condition (karmic) in which the increase of decrease of the intensity of the karma is determined by the capacity of the karmic condition.  It does not refer to the rise (Udaya) or any other karmic state.

Nigoda

The particular state of jiva is nigoda, in which it may reside for infinite period of time.

Nikacita

It is a state of karmic particles in which there is neither increases nor decreases in the intensity of the karmic effect.  Nor is there transformation of karmic process.

Niksepa

It is a dialectical process which presents the various aspects for understanding the nature of the things through the point of view of substance, dravya, its qualities and proper name etc.

Nirjara

It is a process of the removal of the accumulated karmas.

Nirvana

Freedom from bondage of the worldly existence.

Niscaya naya

The noumenal point of view.

Niyativada

Determinism as a theory.

Noindriya pratyaksa

It is the form of pratyaksa which is due to the noindriya i.e. mind, without the help of the sense organs.

Nyasa

It is a method of knowing the nature of a thing from various points of view.  It is also called niksepa.

Palyopama

It is a measure of time by the Jaina standards.

Papa

Demerit.

Paryayarthika naya

The point of view of modes.

Pindaprakrti

The aggregate of the many sub-types of karma.

Pudgala

Matter.

Rjusutranaya

It is the point of view of the momentary present.  The Buddhist point of view is an example of rjusutranaya.

Samhanana

It is a state of the bondage due to the rise of certain types of karma.  It refers to the bones of the body.

Samiti (control

A form of moral rules which refers to the control of movement, control of speech and control of niksepana, etc.

Samjna

Instincts.  It refers to the instinctive urges of all animals including even the heavenly beings regarding hunger, fear, sex urge and the instinct of possession.

Samjni

Jiva which possesses samjna, i.e., mind, by the help of it, they can learn, think, understand etc.

Samvara

It is a process to stop the influx of the new karmas.

Sanghata

It is the aggregate of the particles.  The atomic aggregate.

Sankramana

Transformation of one form of the sub-type of karma into another form of sub-type of the same karma.

Sat

It is a reality, which refers to the origination, the destruction and the permanence of the state of a thing.

Sthapana niksepa

It is the dialectical form of understanding the nature of a thing by the recognition of the present state.

Sthavara

It refers to the stationery souls like Sthavara jivas, the earth and water-bodied beings, plant...etc.

Subhanama

The Nama karma which brings auspicious bodily organs, sweet melodious sound, fame etc., to an individual.

Suksma (subtle

It neither causes hindrance to others, nor other things can hinder it.

Svadhyaya

It is the self-study or the study of holy scriptures means to promote the spiritual realization of the self.

Syadvada

It is the theory of seven-fold predications to express the comprehensive nature of the things.  It is the special contribution of the Jainas to the world thought.

Taijasa sarira

In modern technology it can be called as Electric body.

Tapa (Austerity

They are meant to destroy the eight types of karma.

Trasa Nama

Trasa Nama karma refers to the rise of the karma by which are two to five-sensed organisms are born.

Uccagotra

It is the state of the individual existence in this life with reference to his position, society, his power, form and other status in social life.  This high state of social existence is attained due to the good karmas.

Udirana

Udirana is that process by which the karmic matter of long duration and fruition power is brought in udayavalika so that they can be experienced soon.

Udvartana

It is the increase in the duration and intensity of experience of karma.

Udvartanakarana

To increase the intensity of the karmas which are beyond udayavalika.

Upakaranendriya

These are the material sense organs of the body, which are helpful in perception.  For example, a man seen by the help of cornea, so cornea is upakaranendriya.

Upayoga

It refers to the energy of the soul, which is responsible for the knowledge and intuition (jnana and darsana).

Vyapti

It is a foundational principle of inference.  It refers to the universal relation between the middle term and the major term.