SamanSuttam

38. Pramanasutra

Precepts On Valid Knowledge

(A) Pancavidha Jnana - Five Kinds Of Knowledge

Samsayavimoha-vibbhaya-vivajjiyam appaparasaruvassa.

Gahanam sammam nanam, sayaramaneyabheyam tu. (674)

Such a grasping of the nature of itself and that of other things, as is free from doubt, mistake
and uncertainty is called the right cognition; it is of a determinate form and is of various
types. (674)

Tattha pamcaviham nanam, suyam abhinibohiyam.

Ohinanam tu taiyam, manananam ca kevalam. (675)

The knowledge is of five kinds: Mati-Jnana i.e., knowledge derived through the five senses and
the mind Sruta-jnana i.e. knowledge obtained from the scriptures, Avadhi-Jnana (clairvoyance)
Manahaparya-Jnana i.e. telepathy and Kevala-Jnana i.e. omniscience. (675)

Pamceva homti nana, madisudaohimanam ca kevalayam.

Khayauvasamiya cauro, kevalananam have khaiyam. (676)

Knowledge is thus of five kinds: sensory knowledge, scriptural knowledge, clairvoyance, telepathy
and omniscience. The first four result from substance cum annihilation of the relevant Karmas,
while omniscience result after total annihilation of Karmas. (676)

Iha apoha vimamsa, maggana ya gavesana.

Sanna sati mati panna, savvam abhinibodhiyam. (677)

Reflection on what has been perceived, reasoning, questioning, examining, searching,
understanding and judging these are the varieties of sensory knowledge. (677)

Atthao atthamtaramuvalambhe tam bhananti suyananam.

Abhinibohiyapuvvam, niyamena ya saddayam mulam. (678)

Sruta-Jnana is said to consist in comprehenstion of the meaning of words that are heard or it is
derived from the senses and the mind and it as a rule is born of words. (678)

Imdiyamanonimittam, jam vinnanam suyanusarenam.

Niyayatatthuttisamattham, tam bhavasuyam mai sesam. (679)

The knowledge which is required through the senses and the mind by hearing or reading the
scriptue and which is capable of expressing its content is called Bhava-srutajnana, the rest of
the knowledge (acquired through thought-activities and the senses) is matijnana. (679)

Maipuvvam suyamuttam, na mai suyapuvviya viseso'yam.

Puvvam puranapalana-bhavao jam mai tassa. (680)

The Srutajnana is acquired through matijnana while the matijnana is not acquired through
Srutajnana, but in the act of fortering thoughts, it is the characteristic of matijnana that it
precedes the Srutajnana. (680)

Avahiyaditti ohi, simananetti vanniyam samae.

Bhavagunapaccaya-vihiyam, tamohinana tti nam bimti. (681)

The type of cognition which limits the (direct) knowledge is called (Avadhi-Jnana) i.e.,
clairvoyance, in the scriptures, it is also called simajnana i.e. .imited cognition. This
avadhi-jnana is of two types - viz. one that is born on account of a certain type of birth and
one that is born on account of the practice of certain various qualities. (681)

Cimtiyamacimtiyam va, addham cimtiya aneyabheyagayam.

Manapajjava tti nanam, jam janai tam tu naraloe. (682)

In this world of human beings, that type of cognition is called manahaparyayajnana, which
comprehends other's thought, that is already entertained, that is not yet entertained or that is
only half entertained, and so on. It is of many types. (682)

Kevalamegam suddham, sagalamasaharanam anamtam ca.

Payam ca nanasaddo, namasamanahigarano'yam. (683)

That type of cognition which is one, pure, perfect, extra-ordinary, endless, is called
Kevalajnana, and here as usual the generic word jnana is to be added to the specific word
denotative of a particular jnana Type. (683)

Sambhinnam pasamto, logamalogam ca savvao savvam.

Tam natthi jam na pasai, bhuyam bhavvam bhavissam ca. (684)

Kevala-Jnana grasps in one sweep all that is in this universe and beyond the universe in its
entirety; certainly, there is nothing in the past, future and the present which is not grasped by
this type of cognition. (684)

(B) Pratyaksa-Paroksa Pramana - Precepts On Direct And Indirect Knowledge

Gehanai vatthusahavam, aviruddham sammaruvam jam nanam.

Bhaniyam khu tam pamanam, paccakkhaprokkhabheehim. (685)

That cognition which grasps the nature of things in a proper and uncontradicted form is called
pramana; it is of two types-viz. Pratyaksa (direct) and paroksa (indirect). (685)

Jivo akkho atthavvavana-bhoyanagunannio jenam.

Tam pai vattai nanam, je paccakkham tayam tiviham. (686)

The word `aksa' means a soul either because it covers the entire range of the things or because
it enjoys these things (the tow meanings depending on two different etymologies of the word
`aksa' and the type of cognition, which is had be an aksa is called pratyaksa; it is of three
sub-types. (686)

Akkhassa poggalakaya, jam davvindiyamana para tenam.

Tehim ot jam nanam, parokkhamiha tamanumanam va. (687)

The physical sense-organs and the internal organ i.e. mind, are something alien to an aksa or
self, and the type and the type of cognition had through the instrumentality of these two is
called paroksa-just like inferential cognition. (687)

Homti parokkham mai-suyaim jivassa paranimittao.

Puvvovaladdhasambamdha-saranao vanumanam va. (688)

The two cognitions mati and sruta are paroksa i.e. indirect because they are acquired by a soul
through the instrumentality of something alien to itself or because they are born of the memory
of relationship grasped earlier, just like inferential cognition. (688)

Egamtena parokkham, limgiyamohaiyam ca paccakkham.

Imdiyamanobhavam jam, tam samvavaharapaccakkham. (689)

In a real sense, the cognition acquired through the other sources is paroksa i.e. indirect while
cognition acquired directly by the soul is pratyaksa. But the cognition, born of a sense-organ is
`pratyaksa' practically so called. (689)