Jiva and Ajiva: Classification of Living Beings and Pudgala
What the domain tests
This domain tests the jiva–ajiva divide, the sensory classification of living beings, and the material structure of pudgala. The exam expects precise terms, not generic “life” and “matter.”
Jiva
Jiva is conscious substance, marked by upayoga (conscious attention). Samsari jivas are bound by karma; mukta jivas are liberated. By senses, jivas are ekendriya (touch only), dvindriya, trindriya, caturindriya, and pancendriya. One-sensed beings are sthavara (immobile): earth, water, fire, air, and plants. Two-sensed and above are trasa (mobile). Jivas are plural and beginningless; they are not parts of a single Brahman.
Ajiva and pudgala
Ajiva comprises the non-conscious dravyas: pudgala, dharma, adharma, akasha, and kala. Pudgala is matter; its smallest unit is paramanu, and aggregates are skandha. Pudgala has rupa, rasa, gandha, and sparsha; it lacks consciousness.
Worked example
A plant is a jiva, specifically an ekendriya sthavara being. Reasoning: it has one sense, touch, and is immobile; it is not ajiva. A stone as a material aggregate is pudgala, but Jain cosmology also speaks of earth-bodied jivas, so the exam may test that distinction.
Traps
Do not call plants ajiva. Do not say one-sensed beings have five senses potentially. Do not reduce pudgala to atoms only; it includes molecules and aggregates. Do not list kala as jiva or as a mere quality.