What is pudgal

In Jainism, pudgala (often translated as matter) is one of the actual substances (dravyas) that make up the physical universe. It is non‑sentient and distinct from the soul (jiva).

Key points:

• Pudgala is matter, whereas jiva is conscious soul.
• It includes all physical stuff you can perceive: the five gross elements and the various forms of physical matter that arise from them. In Jain philosophy, karmic particles are also considered a kind of pudgala because they are subtle matter that can attach to the soul.
• Pudgala has the four perceptible attributes commonly taught in Jain texts: rupa (form/color), rasa (taste), gandha (smell), and sparsha (touch). In practice, rupa is the visible form, while the other attributes describe how matter interacts with the senses.
• It is insentient (non‑conscious) and eternal in a broad sense, but it undergoes continual modification and transformation within the universe. It is finite and bound by the laws of karma and reality of time.
• The essential Jain view is that bondage of the soul occurs when pudgala karmic particles stick to the jiva; liberation is achieved by removing these karmic pudgala through spiritual practice (right belief, knowledge, and conduct).

There isn’t a fundamental difference about pudgala between Digambara and Śvetāmbara traditions in the basic definition; both treat pudgala as the material, non‑conscious foundation of the physical world and as the medium through which karmic particles bind to the soul.

If you’d like, I can explain how pudgala relates to karma and liberation in more detail, or provide brief references from Jain scriptures.