Types of Karma

According to Jain karma theory, there are eight main types of karma (Prikriti) which are categorized into the ‘harming’ and the ‘non-harming’; each divided into four types. The harming karmas (ghātiyā karmas) directly affect the soul powers by impeding its perception, knowledge and energy, and also brings about delusion. These harming karmas are: darśanāvaraṇa (perception obscuring karma), jñānavāraṇa (knowledge obscuring karma), antarāya (obstacles creating karma) and mohanīya (deluding karma). The non-harming category (aghātiyā karmas) is responsible for the reborn soul's physical and mental circumstances, longevity, spiritual potential and experience of pleasant and unpleasant sensations. These non-harming karmas are: nāma (body determining karma), āyu (life span determining karma), gotra (status determining karma) and vedanīya (feeling producing karma) respectively. Different types of karmas thus affect the soul in different ways as per their nature. Each of these types has various sub-types. Tattvārthasūtra generally speaks of 148 sub-types of karmas in all. These are: 5 of jñānavaraṇa, 9 of darśanavaraṇa, 2 of vedanīya, 28 of mohanīya 4 of āyuṣka, 93 of nāma, 2 of gotra, and 5 of antarāya.

Ghātiyā karmas (harming karmas) directly affect the attributes of the soul. These are:

When ghātiyā karmas are totally destroyed, the soul attains kevala Jnana or omniscience. Liberation is guaranteed for such souls in the same lifetime as soon the aghātiyā karmas are exhausted in the due course.

Jñānāvaraṇīya karma or the knowledge-obscuring karma are of five types:

Of these, the last mentioned karman hinders omniscience altogether; the four others do not result in complete destruction of the corresponding faculties of knowledge, but often produce only greater or less disturbances.

Darsanavarana karma or the perception-obscuring karma are of four types:

The last mentioned karma hinders completely; the three others produce under certain circumstances only a disturbance of the respective cognition faculties.

In addition to these four darsanavarana karmas there are five others which produce physio-psychological conditions in which the sense organs are not active, and which, therefore, exclude all possibility of perception. These are the five nidra karmas, (sleep karmas), namely:

Mohaniya is derived from Moha which means attachment. Mohaniya karma (deluding karma) is the most dangerous, out of all the eight karmas because `moha' (attachment) is the root cause of all Kasayas (passions). It is also most difficult karma to destroy. If mohaniya karma is destroyed fully, the self becomes free from all Kasayas and liberation is assured. Two main categories of Mohaniya karman are—darsana mohaniya and charitra mohaniya karma. With their subtypes there are 28 sub-types of mohaniya karman.

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