Philosophy In Jain Agams: Nature of Relation

Jain tradition believes in the materiality of karma. Among the eight vargaṇās (clusters of homogenous atoms) of matter, one is Kārmaṇavargaṇā. Only the atoms of Kārmaṇavargaṇā get unified with the soul in the form of karma. Bhagavatī has expressed this using the terms like anyonyānupraveśa (mutual inter-relation) and annamannabaddha, annamannapuṭṭha (bound with each other, in contact with each other, pervading each other, stuck with each other through mutual attraction and unified with each other through mutual identification) etc.^[1] The mutual relation of soul and karma has been exemplified by the illustration of fire and iron and milk and water.^[2] The term āveṣṭana-pariveṣṭana is also used in the relation of karmic bondage.^[3] It is very important. The karma particles of knowledge obscuring karma, intuition covering karma etc. cover the units of the soul. They bind them. The word āveṣṭana (covering) and pariveṣṭana (repeated covering) indicates the fact that karmic particles are bound with the soul by covering its units.