Tattvartha Sutra: 05 Ajeevakāy - Insentient Matter

After dealing with various categories of Jeev (living beings) from second to fourth chapters we now turn to the fifth, which mostly deals with Ajeev (lifeless, insentient substances). Again the question may arise, 'Why is it necessary to know about the insentient matter, when our purpose is to make out the well-being of soul?' The question makes sense, but the worldly life arises on account of interaction of soul with the insentient matter. Unless we know the nature and properties of insentient matter, we cannot make out how it interacts with soul and how that results in bondage. If we know that, we can make out how to avert the interaction and how to eradicate its bondage.