Tattvārtha Sūtra

Word glossary

Terms and definitions

Every technical term used in this portal, with a short gloss, a longer note, and the chapters where it matters.

99 terms

Adharma-dravyaअधर्मास्तिकाय
Medium of rest.
Assists rest as shade assists a weary traveller. Neither compels; both enable.
Chapter 5
Aghātī-karmaअघातिकर्म
Non-destructive karmas affecting embodiment only.
Vedanīya, āyu, nāma, gotra. They persist in a kevalī until the final moment.
Chapter 8
Ahiṃsāअहिंसा
Non-injury — the first and root vow.
Its opposite, hiṃsā, is defined at 7.8 as severing life-forces through careless activity. Carelessness, not outcome alone, is decisive.
Chapter 7
Ajīvaअजीव
Non-soul — everything without consciousness.
Comprises pudgala, dharma, adharma, ākāśa and (on one view) kāla. Only pudgala has form.
Chapter 1Chapter 5
Ākāśaआकाश
Space — that which provides accommodation.
Infinite, divided into lokākāśa (occupied) and alokākāśa (empty).
Chapter 5
Anekāntavādaअनेकान्तवाद
Non-absolutism — reality has infinite aspects.
The philosophical consequence of 5.30: since everything originates, perishes and endures at once, no single one-sided statement can be complete. Expressed linguistically as syādvāda.
Chapter 1Chapter 5
Antarāya-karmaअन्तरायकर्म
Obstructive karma.
Five kinds, obstructing giving, receiving, enjoying once, enjoying repeatedly, and exerting energy. Caused by creating obstacles for others.
Chapter 6Chapter 8
Aṇuअणु
The indivisible atom of matter.
Partless, produced only by division of an aggregate, occupying one space-point.
Chapter 5
Anubhāga-bandhaअनुभागबन्ध
Intensity of the karma's fruition.
Also determined by passion. Same type of karma can fruit mildly or severely.
Chapter 8
Anuprekṣāअनुप्रेक्षा
Reflection — one of the twelve contemplations.
Sustained, repeated dwelling on impermanence, helplessness, transmigration, aloneness, separateness, impurity, influx, stoppage, shedding, the universe, rarity of enlightenment and the teaching.
Chapter 9
Aṇuvrataअणुव्रत
The householder's partial vow.
Five in number, supplemented by three guṇavratas and four śikṣāvratas.
Chapter 7
Apāyaअपाय
Ascertainment — determinate judgement.
Stage three: the object is definitely identified.
Chapter 1
Āsravaआस्रव
Influx of karmic matter into the soul.
Identified with yoga at 6.2. Two kinds: sāmparāyika (with passion) and īryāpatha (passionless).
Chapter 1Chapter 6
Astikāyaअस्तिकाय
An extended substance occupying multiple space-points.
Five: jīva, pudgala, dharma, adharma, ākāśa. Kāla is excluded.
Chapter 5
Aticāraअतिचार
Transgression — a partial breach of a vow.
Five are listed for each vow in chapter 7, functioning as a precise diagnostic checklist.
Chapter 7
Audārika-śarīraऔदारिक शरीर
The gross physical body of humans and animals.
The largest and least subtle of the five bodies; the only one capable of the practice leading to liberation.
Chapter 2
Audayikaऔदयिक
State arising from the rise (operation) of karma.
Twenty-one kinds, including the four gatis, four kaṣāyas, three vedas and six leśyās. This is the state in which most worldly experience occurs.
Chapter 2
Aupaśamikaऔपशमिक
State arising from the subsidence of karma.
Karma is temporarily quiescent, like dust settled in water. Two kinds: samyaktva and cāritra. Always temporary and liable to relapse.
Chapter 2
Avadhi-jñānaअवधिज्ञान
Clairvoyance — direct knowledge of material things at a distance.
By birth in gods and hell-beings; by karmic destruction-cum-subsidence in humans and animals. Limited in space, time and object.
Chapter 1
Avagrahaअवग्रह
First bare apprehension of an object.
Stage one of mati-jñāna: 'something is there', prior to any identification.
Chapter 1
Avasarpiṇīअवसर्पिणी
The descending half-cycle of time, in six stages.
Happiness, lifespan and stature decline throughout. We are currently in its fifth stage in Bharata.
Chapter 3
Āyu-karmaआयुकर्म
Lifespan-determining karma.
Fixes the duration of the current birth. Usually breakable (apavartya) but not for beings of certain classes (2.52).
Chapter 2Chapter 8
Bandhaबन्ध
Bondage — the assimilation of karmic matter by the soul.
Defined at 8.2. Has four aspects: prakṛti, sthiti, anubhāga, pradeśa.
Chapter 1Chapter 8
Bhoga-bhūmiभोगभूमि
Land of enjoyment, sustained by wish-fulfilling trees.
Pleasant but spiritually inert: no asceticism, no vows, no liberation.
Chapter 3
Darśanopayogaदर्शनोपयोग
Indeterminate apprehension preceding determinate knowing.
Four kinds: cakṣu (ocular), acakṣu (non-ocular), avadhi and kevala darśana. It grasps the general before the particular.
Chapter 2
Dhāraṇāधारणा
Retention enabling later recall.
Stage four: the judgement is impressed strongly enough to be remembered.
Chapter 1
Dharma-dravyaधर्मास्तिकाय
Medium of motion.
One, formless, coextensive with the occupied universe. Assists motion as water assists a fish. Its absence beyond loka is why liberated souls stop at the summit.
Chapter 5Chapter 10
Dhrauvyaध्रौव्य
Permanence — the endurance of the substance through change.
Defined at 5.31 as non-loss of essential nature, not as changelessness.
Chapter 5
Dhyānaध्यान
Concentration of thought on a single object.
Four kinds: ārta, raudra, dharmya, śukla. Only the last two lead to liberation. Maximum continuous duration: one muhūrta.
Chapter 9
Dravyaद्रव्य
Substance — that which possesses qualities and modes.
Six in number, eternal and fixed. Defined at 5.38 as guṇa-paryāya-vat.
Chapter 5
Gatiगति
Realm of existence: hell, animal, human, celestial.
Determined by nāma-karma. Only the human gati permits the full path to liberation.
Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4
Ghātī-karmaघातिकर्म
Destructive karmas that obscure the soul's own nature.
Jñānāvaraṇīya, darśanāvaraṇīya, mohanīya, antarāya. Their destruction produces omniscience.
Chapter 8Chapter 10
Gotra-karmaगोत्रकर्म
Status-determining karma: high or low family.
Determines the social setting of birth, not spiritual worth or capacity.
Chapter 8
Guṇaगुण
Quality — a permanent, co-existent attribute of a substance.
Consciousness in the soul, colour in matter. Qualities never leave their substance.
Chapter 5
Guṇasthānaगुणस्थान
One of the fourteen stages of spiritual development.
From mithyātva (1) through samyag-dṛṣṭi (4), the vowed layman (5), the ascetic (6-7), the two ladders (8-11), kṣīṇa-moha (12), sayoga-kevalī (13) and ayoga-kevalī (14). Not named in the sūtra text but presupposed throughout.
Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10
Guptiगुप्ति
Restraint of activity of mind, speech and body.
Three in number. The negative side of saṃvara: not acting.
Chapter 9
Hiṃsāहिंसा
Injury — depriving of life-forces through careless activity.
Two conditions: negligence or passion in the actor, and harm to prāṇas. Passionate intention binds karma even when no external harm results.
Chapter 7
Īhāईहा
Speculation — inquiry into what the object is.
Stage two: an active weighing of possibilities on the basis of the bare grasp.
Chapter 1
Indriyaइन्द्रिय
Sense organ.
Five: touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing — always acquired in that order. Each has a physical form (dravyendriya) and a psychic capacity (bhāvendriya).
Chapter 2
Jīvaजीव
Soul — the conscious substance.
Defined by upayoga (2.8). Infinite in number, each occupying innumerable space-points, expanding and contracting to the size of the body it inhabits. Divided into transmigrating and liberated.
Chapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 5
Jñānopayogaज्ञानोपयोग
Determinate knowing — knowledge with specific content.
Eight kinds: the five knowledges plus mati-ajñāna, śruta-ajñāna and vibhaṅga-jñāna.
Chapter 2
Kālaकाल
Time — the auxiliary cause of continuity and change.
Functions: vartanā, pariṇāma, kriyā, paratva and aparatva. Not an astikāya; its substantiality is reported at 5.41 as the view of 'some'.
Chapter 4Chapter 5
Karma-bhūmiकर्मभूमि
Land of action where liberation is possible.
Bharata, Airāvata and Videha in the two and a half continents — fifteen in all. Contrasted with bhoga-bhūmi, the lands of enjoyment.
Chapter 3
Kārmaṇaकार्मण शरीर
The karmic body — the aggregate of bound karma.
Subtlest of the five, with the most space-points. Accompanies the soul through every birth together with the taijasa body, and is the seed of all other bodies.
Chapter 2Chapter 8
Kaṣāyaकषाय
Passion — anger, pride, deceit, greed.
Each in four intensities (anantānubandhī, apratyākhyāna, pratyākhyāna, sañjvalana), giving sixteen. Passion determines the duration and intensity of bondage.
Chapter 6Chapter 8
Kevala-jñānaकेवलज्ञान
Omniscience — unlimited, direct knowledge of all substances and modes.
Arises on the destruction of the four ghātī karmas (10.1). Not an accumulation but the soul's own nature unveiled.
Chapter 1Chapter 10
Kṣāyikaक्षायिक
State arising from the total destruction of karma.
Permanent and irreversible — the states of a liberated soul. Nine kinds, including kevala-jñāna and kṣāyika-samyaktva.
Chapter 2Chapter 10
Kṣāyopaśamikaक्षायोपशमिक
Mixed state: partial destruction with partial subsidence.
Eighteen kinds. The ordinary condition of a practising soul — some karma destroyed, some quiescent, some still operative.
Chapter 2
Leśyāलेश्या
Thought-tint — the colouring of the soul by passion.
Six: black, blue, grey, yellow, pink (lotus) and white, from most to least impure. Illustrated by the parable of six travellers and a fruit tree.
Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4
Mahāvrataमहाव्रत
The ascetic's complete vow.
Total abstention from the five faults in mind, speech and body, in respect of doing, causing and approving.
Chapter 7
Manaḥparyāya-jñānaमनःपर्यायज्ञान
Direct knowledge of the mental modes of others.
Two kinds — ṛju-mati and vipula-mati. Arises only in ascetics of high attainment within the human world.
Chapter 1
Mati-jñānaमतिज्ञान
Sensory and mental knowledge.
Arises through the five senses and the mind, in four stages: avagraha, īhā, apāya, dhāraṇā. Classified as parokṣa because it depends on external instruments.
Chapter 1
Mithyādarśanaमिथ्यादर्शन
Wrong faith — the first and gravest cause of bondage.
Turns even correct cognition into wrong knowledge. Removing it is the beginning of the path and the fourth guṇasthāna.
Chapter 1Chapter 8
Mohanīyaमोहनीय
Deluding karma — the king of karmas.
28 subtypes, longest maximum duration. Faith-deluding blocks right faith; conduct-deluding blocks right conduct.
Chapter 6Chapter 8Chapter 10
Mokṣaमोक्ष
Liberation — complete release from all karma.
Defined in 10.2 as kṛtsna-karma-vipramokṣa, brought about by the absence of the causes of bondage together with the shedding of what remains. The freed soul rises instantly to the summit of the universe.
Chapter 1Chapter 10
Nāma-karmaनामकर्म
Body-making karma — the 'painter'.
42 primary subtypes, 93 in full enumeration. Determines realm, class, body, structure, voice and much else.
Chapter 6Chapter 8
Nayaनय
A viewpoint — partial, purpose-relative apprehension.
Five in the sūtra (naigama, saṅgraha, vyavahāra, ṛjusūtra, śabda), seven in later tradition. A naya asserted as the whole truth becomes nayābhāsa, a fallacy.
Chapter 1
Nikṣepaनिक्षेप
Four-fold placement of a term: name, symbol, potential, actual.
Introduced at 1.5 as a method for removing verbal ambiguity before any philosophical discussion.
Chapter 1
Nirjarāनिर्जरा
Shedding of karma already bound.
Two kinds: savipāka (karma falling away on maturity) and avipāka (deliberately induced through austerity).
Chapter 1Chapter 9
No-kaṣāyaनोकषाय
Quasi-passions — nine subsidiary emotional dispositions.
Laughter, liking, disliking, grief, fear, disgust and the three sex-dispositions. Subdivisions of conduct-deluding karma.
Chapter 8
Pāpaपाप
Demerit — inauspicious karma.
All four destructive karmas plus the inauspicious varieties of the others.
Chapter 6Chapter 8
Parigrahaपरिग्रह
Possessiveness — defined as infatuation (mūrchā), not ownership.
7.12 locates the fault in attachment, so one may hold much without parigraha and little with intense parigraha.
Chapter 7
Pāriṇāmikaपारिणामिक
The soul's inherent state, independent of karma.
Three: jīvatva (soulhood), bhavyatva (capacity for liberation) and abhavyatva. The only bhāva requiring no karmic reference at all.
Chapter 2
Parīṣahaपरीषह
Hardship to be endured without loss of equanimity.
Twenty-two are listed at 9.9, including hunger, cold, abuse, illness, honour, and both learning and ignorance.
Chapter 9
Parokṣaपरोक्ष
Indirect knowledge, mediated by senses or mind.
Mati and śruta. Called indirect because the soul knows through something other than itself.
Chapter 1
Paryāyaपर्याय
Mode — a changing, successive state of a substance.
The bangle and the ring are modes of gold. Modes arise and perish; the substance endures.
Chapter 5
Pradeśa-bandhaप्रदेशबन्ध
Quantity of karmic matter absorbed.
Determined by the degree of activity (yoga), and absorbed at all space-points of the soul simultaneously.
Chapter 8
Prakṛti-bandhaप्रकृतिबन्ध
Type of karma bound.
Determined by the kind of activity. Eight primary types, 148 subtypes in full enumeration.
Chapter 8
Pramāṇaप्रमाण
Valid knowledge grasping an object in its wholeness.
Complements naya. Where pramāṇa takes the object with all its aspects, naya takes one intended aspect.
Chapter 1
Pratyakṣaप्रत्यक्ष
Direct knowledge, arising in the soul without instruments.
Avadhi, manaḥparyāya and kevala. Note the Jain reversal: sense perception is classed as indirect.
Chapter 1
Pudgalaपुद्गल
Matter — the only substance with form.
Characterised by touch, taste, smell and colour. Exists as atoms and aggregates; constitutes body, speech, mind, breath and karma.
Chapter 5
Puṇyaपुण्य
Merit — auspicious karma.
Pleasant-feeling, auspicious lifespan, body-making and high status karma. Still bondage: a chain of gold.
Chapter 6Chapter 8
Sallekhanāसल्लेखना
Voluntary, passionless thinning of body and passions at life's end.
Undertaken only when death is certain and near, with the teacher's consent, without desire for death or aversion to life — which distinguishes it from suicide, an act of passion.
Chapter 7
Sāmāyikaसामायिक
Periodic practice of equanimity.
A śikṣāvrata for the householder and the first stage of ascetic conduct: withdrawal from all harmful activity for a fixed period.
Chapter 7Chapter 9
Samitiसमिति
Carefulness in necessary activity.
Five: walking, speaking, seeking food, handling objects, and disposal. The positive side of saṃvara: acting without harm.
Chapter 9
Saṃvaraसंवर
Stoppage of karmic influx.
Achieved by gupti, samiti, dharma, anuprekṣā, parīṣaha-jaya and cāritra — and additionally by tapas.
Chapter 1Chapter 9
Samyag-darśanaसम्यग्दर्शन
Right faith — settled conviction in reality as it is.
The first jewel. Defined in 1.2 as tattvārtha-śraddhāna: conviction regarding the seven tattvas. It arises either spontaneously (nisarga) or through instruction (adhigama), and its five transgressions are doubt, worldly desire, disgust, admiration of wrong views and praise of them.
Chapter 1Chapter 7
Samyag-jñānaसम्यग्ज्ञान
Right knowledge — knowledge organised by right faith.
The same five cognitions become right knowledge in a soul with right faith and wrong knowledge without it. Content does not change; orientation does.
Chapter 1
Samyak-cāritraसम्यक्चारित्र
Right conduct — action in accordance with right knowledge.
Graded in 9.18 into five stages from sāmāyika to yathākhyāta. In the householder it takes the form of the twelve vows; in the ascetic, the five mahāvratas with their bhāvanās.
Chapter 1Chapter 7Chapter 9
Siddhaसिद्ध
A liberated soul at the summit of the universe.
Possesses infinite knowledge, perception, bliss and energy; has no body, mind, speech or rebirth; retains individuality.
Chapter 10
Skandhaस्कन्ध
Aggregate of atoms.
Formed by the interaction of snigdha and rūkṣa qualities. Everything perceptible is a skandha.
Chapter 5
Śruta-jñānaश्रुतज्ञान
Scriptural or articulate knowledge.
Always preceded by mati. Divided into aṅga-praviṣṭa (the twelve Aṅgas) and aṅga-bāhya. Uniquely, it can be communicated to others.
Chapter 1
Sthāvaraस्थावर
Immobile one-sensed beings.
Earth-, water-, fire-, air- and plant-bodied. The doctrinal foundation of Jain ecology and dietary practice.
Chapter 2
Sthiti-bandhaस्थितिबन्ध
Duration of the bond.
Determined by the intensity of passion. Maximum 70 koṭākoṭi sāgaropama for mohanīya.
Chapter 8
Śukla-dhyānaशुक्लध्यान
Pure meditation — the immediate cause of omniscience.
Four stages, carrying the soul from the eighth guṇasthāna through the annihilation of all karma at the fourteenth.
Chapter 9Chapter 10
Svādhyāyaस्वाध्याय
Self-study — an internal austerity.
Five limbs: vācanā (reading), pṛcchanā (questioning), anuprekṣā (reflection), āmnāya (repetition), dharmopadeśa (expounding).
Chapter 9
Syādvādaस्याद्वाद
The doctrine of conditional predication.
Every assertion is prefixed with 'syāt' — 'in a certain respect' — yielding the seven-fold predication (saptabhaṅgī).
Chapter 1Chapter 5
Taijasaतैजस शरीर
The luminous body responsible for digestion and radiance.
Travels with the soul between births alongside the kārmaṇa body.
Chapter 2
Tapasतप
Austerity — six external and six internal.
The only means that both stops influx and sheds existing karma (9.3).
Chapter 9
Tattvaतत्त्व
Reality-category; one of the seven fundamentals.
Jīva, ajīva, āsrava, bandha, saṃvara, nirjarā, mokṣa. Adding puṇya and pāpa gives the nine padārthas of the later tradition.
Chapter 1
Tīrthaṅkara-nāma-karmaतीर्थंकर नामकर्म
The karma of becoming a ford-maker.
Bound by the sixteen bhāvanās listed at 6.23 — purity of faith, reverence, study, service, devotion and care for the community.
Chapter 6
Trasaत्रस
Mobile beings, from two-sensed upward.
Capable of moving to seek comfort and avoid pain. Contrasted with sthāvara.
Chapter 2
Upayogaउपयोग
Conscious attention — the defining mark of the soul.
Two-fold: jñānopayoga (determinate, eight kinds) and darśanopayoga (indeterminate, four kinds). Present in every soul at all times, including liberation.
Chapter 2
Utpādaउत्पाद
Origination — the arising of a new mode.
One of the three marks of existence in 5.30.
Chapter 5
Utsarpiṇīउत्सर्पिणी
The ascending half-cycle of time, in six stages.
The mirror image of avasarpiṇī: conditions improve steadily.
Chapter 3
Vaikriyika-śarīraवैक्रियिक शरीर
Transformable body of gods and hell-beings.
Can change size, shape and number at will. Also acquired by some humans through austerity.
Chapter 2
Vaiyāvṛtyaवैयावृत्त्य
Service to teachers, ascetics and the community.
An internal austerity of ten kinds, according to whom one serves.
Chapter 9
Vyayaव्यय
Cessation — the perishing of a previous mode.
Simultaneous with origination; the two are two faces of one change.
Chapter 5
Yogaयोग
Activity of body, speech and mind.
In the Tattvārtha Sūtra yoga means vibration of the soul's space-points, not meditative practice. It determines the type and quantity of karma bound.
Chapter 6Chapter 8