''Ajiva'' (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

) is anything that has no soul or life, the polar opposite of " jīva" (soul). Because ''ajiva'' has no life, it does not accumulate ''karma'' and cannot die. Examples of ajiva include chairs, computers, paper, plastic, etc.

Five categories of Ajiva

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

, there are five categories which ''ajīva'' can be placed into. Out of these, four categories, ''Dharma'' (medium of motion), ''Adharma'' (medium of rest), ''

Akasha Akasha or Akash (Sanskrit ' ) means space or sky or æther in traditional Indian cosmology, depending on the religion. The term has also been adopted in Western occultism and spiritualism in the late 19th century. In many modern Indo-Aryan la ...

'' (space) and ''

Pudgala In Jainism, Pudgala (or ') is one of the six Dravyas, or aspects of reality that fabricate the world we live in. The six ''dravya''s include the jiva and the fivefold divisions of ajiva (non-living) category: ''dharma'' (motion), ''adharma'' ( ...

'' (matter) are described as the ''asti-kaya dravya's'' (substances which possess constituent parts extending in space) while the fifth category ''Kala'' is an ''anasti-kaya dravya'' (which has no extension in space).

Dharma-Astikaya

Dharmastikaya is formed from the two words:

Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

& Astikaya. Dharma here isn't referring to religion, but instead its referring to the medium of motion. Astikay itself is formed of two words: Asti & Kaya. Asti means space, body or mode and Kaya means collection. So Astikaya means a collection of spaces or regions. Dharmastikaya denotes the medium of motion for things in the universe. In the absence of this medium, living things (i.e.

jiva ''Jiva'' ( sa, जीव, IAST: ) is a living being or any entity imbued with a life force in Hinduism and Jīva (Jainism), Jainism. The word itself originates from the Sanskrit verb-root ''jīv'', which translates as 'to breathe' or 'to live'. ...

) would not be able to move.

Adharma-Astikaya

Adharmastikaya is also formed from two words: Adharma & Astikaya. Adharma in this case means the medium of rest. In the absence of this medium, Living things or

would continuously move.

Ākāśa -Astikaya

The infinity of space, called ''ākāśa'' in Sanskrit, is divided by the

Jain philosophy Jain philosophy refers to the ancient Indian philosophy, Indian philosophical system found in Jainism. One of the main features of Jain philosophy is its Mind–body dualism, dualistic metaphysics, which holds that there are two distinct categor ...

into two parts, namely, the ''lokākāśa'' (loka+ākāśa), that is the space occupied by the universe, and the ''alokākāśa'' (a not, and lokākāśa), the portion beyond the universe. The ''lokākāśa'' is the portion in which are to be found the remaining five substances, i.e., ''Jīvas'', Matter, Time, Dharma and Adharma; but the ''alokākāśa'' is the region of pure space containing no other substance and lying stretched on all sides beyond bounds of the three worlds (the entire universe). At the summit of the ''lokākāśa'' is the ''

Siddhashila Siddhashila is an area in Jain cosmology at the apex of the universe, which is where the Jains believe people who have become '' arihants'' and ''tirthankaras'' go after they die and attain ''moksha''. Such people are called ''siddhas'' after ...

'' (abode of the liberated souls).

Pudgala-Astikaya

The word

is made up of two terms: ''Pud'' means supplement (integration) and ''Gala'' means disintegration (division). In other words, what continuously changes by supplementation and/or division (''purayanti galanti cha'') is called Pudgala or

matter In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic partic ...

. All matter in the

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

is called Pudgala. Pudgala has form and

shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external Surface (mathematics), surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, Surface texture, texture, or material type. A pl ...

. Pudgala can be experienced by touching, tasting, smelling, or seeing. Like

Jiva ''Jiva'' ( sa, जीव, IAST: ) is a living being or any entity imbued with a life force in Hinduism and Jīva (Jainism), Jainism. The word itself originates from the Sanskrit verb-root ''jīv'', which translates as 'to breathe' or 'to live'. ...

Pudgala is also mobile. According to

, The karma

particles In the physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscule in older texts) is a small localized object which can be described by several physical or chemical properties, such as volume, density, or mass. They vary greatly in size or quantity, from s ...

that attach to our souls are also Pudgala. Pudgala can only be divided and subdivided to a certain extent that it is not possible to further subdivide it. This indivisible part of Pudgala, which is separated from the main pudgala, is called Paramanu. A paramanu is much more minute than even an

atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, and ...

. When a Paramanu is attached to the main pudgala, it is called a Pradesha. These

subatomic In physical sciences, a subatomic particle is a particle that composes an atom. According to the Standard Model of particle physics, a subatomic particle can be either a composite particle, which is composed of other particles (for example, a pro ...

Paramanus are too minute to be detected by normal vision, but they can be combined. Thus when a paramanu is combined with one or more other paramanus, they are called a skandha which are more or less like a molecules. Part of skandha is called desha. Such skandhas may be large or small. Small skandhas may be invisible to the eye, but they can be seen when the combinations are larger.

Kala

Kala refers to time that brings forth changes. Past, present, and future are the different modes of time and are measured in terms of years, months, days, hours, minutes or seconds. For practical purposes a second happens to be the finest measurement of time.

however, recognizes a very small

measurement Measurement is the quantification of attributes of an object or event, which can be used to compare with other objects or events. In other words, measurement is a process of determining how large or small a physical quantity is as compared ...

of time known as ''samaya'' which is an infinitely small part of a

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

. ''Kala'' (time) is infinite, but there are cycles (''kalachakra''s) in it. Each cycle having two eras of equal duration described as the '' avasarpini'' and the ''utsarpini''. The former is a descending era in which virtue gradually decreases. The latter is an ascending era in which the reverse takes place. The present era is stated to be the former.Hiriyanna, M. (1993, reprint 2000). ''Outlines of Indian Philosophy'', Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, , pp.159-60
Indivisible time = 1 Samaya (smallest unit of measurement)
Countless Samayas = 1 Avalika
16,777,216 Avalikas = 1 Muhurt (48 minutes)
30 Muhurtas = 1 day and night
15 Days and nights = 1 Paksha
2 Pakshas = 1 Month
12 Months = 1 Year
Countless years = 1 Palyopam
1,000,000,000,000,000 (one quintillion) Palyopams = 1 Sagaropam; one quintillion is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000
1,000,000,000,000,000 Sagaropams = 1 Utsarpini or Avasarpini
1 Utsarpini or Avasarpini = 1 Kalchakra (One time cycle)

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{Authority control Jain philosophical concepts it:Giainismo#Ajiva