Verse 10.1 - Attainment of omniscience (kevalajñāna)

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Tattvartha sūtra 10.1:

मोहक्षयाज्ज्ञानदर्शनावरणान्तरायक्षयाच्च केवलम् ॥ १०.१ ॥

mohakṣayājjñānadarśanāvaraṇāntarāyakṣayācca kevalam || 10.1 ||

Omniscience or perfect knowledge–kevalajñāna–is attained on destruction of delusion (moha), and on destruction of knowledge-covering (jñānāvaraṇa), perception-covering (darśanāvaraṇa) and obstructive (antarāya) karmas. (1)

Hindi Anvayarth:

अन्वयार्थ: [मोहक्षयात्] मोह का क्षय होने से (अन्तर्मुहूर्त पर्यन्त क्षीणकषाय नामक गुणस्थान प्राप्त करने के बाद) [ज्ञानदर्शनावरणान्तरायक्षयात् च] और ज्ञानावरण, दर्शनावरण तथा अन्तराय इन तीन कर्मों का एक साथ क्षय होने से [केवलम्] केवलज्ञान उत्पन्न होता है।

Anvayartha: [mohakshayat] moha ka kshaya hone se (antarmuhurta paryanta kshinakashaya namaka gunasthana prapta karane ke bada) [jnanadarshanavaranantarayakshayat ca] aura jnanavarana, darshanavarana tatha antaraya ina tina karmom ka eka satha kshaya hone se [kevalam] kevalajnana utpanna hota hai |

Explanation in English from Ācārya Pūjyapāda’s Sarvārthasiddhi:

It is time now to describe the last of the objects of reality (tattva), i.e., liberation–mokṣa. But as liberation is attained only on attainment of omniscience (kevalajñāna), the causes of omniscience are mentioned first.

A contention is raised. The sūtra should have used a single compound. Why? It would make it brief. How? There should be no need for the repetition of the word ‘kṣaya’–‘on destruction of’. It is true. But successive stages of destruction are indicated by splitting the sūtra. That is, first delusion (moha) is destroyed, and the soul attains, for up to one muhūrta, the twelfth stage called kṣīṇakaṣāya. Immediately after that knowledge-and perception-covering karmas and obstructive karmas are simultaneously destroyed, and it attains omniscience (kevalajñāna). The destruction of these karmas is the cause of perfect knowledge.

How is delusion (moha) destroyed first? The potential soul becomes a right-believer (samyagdṛṣṭi) and, with growing purity of thought-activity, destroys the seven categories of deluding (mohanīya) karmas in any one of the four spiritual stages of asaṃyatasamyagdṛṣṭi, saṃyatāsaṃyata, pramattasaṃyata and apramattasaṃyata, becomes a destructional-right-believer–kṣāyika samyagdṛṣṭi. From the apramattasaṃyata stage, it tends to rise further in step (kṣapaka śreṇī) to the apūrvakaraṇa stage. And therein, owing to the purity of new thought-activity, the duration and fruition of inauspicious karmas are crushed and the fruition of auspicious karmas is increased. And through the attainment of advanced thought-activity, the self ascends the ninth stage of kṣapaka anivṛttibādarasāmparāya. Here it destroys eight passions (kaṣāya) and then the neuter-sex and the female-sex. Further, he destroys the six quasi-passions (nokaṣāya) by attaching these to the male-sex, the male-sex by attaching it to gleaming (saṃjvalana) anger (krodha), gleaming anger by attaching it to gleaming pride (māna), gleaming pride by attaching it to gleaming deceitfulness (māyā), gleaming deceitfulness by attaching it to gleaming greed (lobha), and gradually annihilating these by the method of gigantic karmic emaciation (bādarakṛṣṭi). And the soul mitigates the gleaming greed, experiences the tenth stage of sūkṣmasāmparāya (kṣapaka)–checking of even minute passions. It thus destroys the entire delusion (moha). Having cast off the burden of the deluding karmas, the soul ascends to the twelfth stage of kṣīṇakaṣāya–destroyed delusion. In the last but one instant of the twelfth stage, sleep (nidrā) and drowsiness (pracalā) are destroyed, and in the last instant, the five classes of knowledge-covering (jñānāvaraṇa), the four classes of perception-covering (darśanā-varaṇa) and the five classes of obstructive (antarāya) karmas are destroyed. Immediately the self attains the state of perfect knowledge–kevalajñāna–and perception of unimaginable splendour and magnificence.