Jethalal S. Zaveri
Prof. Muni Mahendra Kumar
jadi poggalakammamiṇaṃ kuvvadi taṃ ceva vedayadi āda.
dokiriyāvadiritto passajade so jiṇāvamadaṃ.. 17
jamhā du attabhāvaṃ poggalabhāvaṃ ca do vi kuvvaṃti.
teṇa du micchādiṭṭhῑ dokiriyāvādiṇo hoṃti.. 18
(Jadi) If (ādā) the soul (iṇaṃpoggalakammaṃ kuvvadi ca taṃ eva vedayadi) produces [i.e. is the material cause of] as well as enjoys the material karma (dravya karma) (dokiriyāvadiritto pasajjade) it would be a case of dual mutation-psychical as well as physical mutation—(so jiṇāvamadaṃ) which is contrary to what is propounded by the omniscient [Jinendradeva].
(Jamhā du) He, who says that (attabhāvaṃ ca poggalabhāvaṃ do vi kuvvaṃti) the soul produces psychical as well as physical attributes [serves as the material cause for both] (teṇa du do kiriyāvādiṇo micchādiṭṭhῑ hoṃti) believes in dual mutation—one substance making attributes of two substances—and has, therefore, a perverted belief.
Annotations:
The Jain metaphysical view is that a substance is a continuum through the infinite variation of its modes at every moment of its being. The continuum is as much a reality as the modification. Thus there is unity as well multiplicity in perfect harmony. This is the doctrine of anekāntavāda—non-absolutism.
The fundamental cosmic law is that every substance is entirely self-determining in its modification. This, therefore, is the ultimate truth which can never be negated. At the same time, in worldly life, it is the empirical truth which is more purposeful and important. We have already dealt with respective positions according to both aspects in the preceding verses. Acceptance of the empirical truth in worldly life merely means that it is not a mere appearance or illusion because its reality is corroborated by concrete experience. In the above verses Ācārya Kundakunda emphasizes that to say this much is acceptable and true but to go beyond and to reject everything that is not included in concrete experience in toto (because it is not presented) is the apotheosis of vyavahara. It is not fallacious to believe the empirical truth as a relative truth. What is perversion or fallacious is to believe it as the absolute truth, because it transgresses the cosmic law.
Both ῑlva and pudgala—the soul and the matter—are dynamic i.e., incessantly active substances and the term 'kriyā' literally means 'action' but here it is synonymous with 'pariṇāma' i.e. mode or paryāya which is really the incessant activity of modification. Now the mode of a substance can never be absolutely different from the substance itself. Therefore, if it is believed that the soul undergoes psychical modification (as is its nature) as well as material or physical modification, it would become identical to both jῑvāstikāya and pudgalāstikāya which is basically absurd, and therefore, a perversion (in opposition to the omniscient views). The truth is each substance to ultimately self-determining and to assign dual causal efficiency to the soul is perversion.
