In Jain dharma, nothing about the next birth is “decided by someone.” Your own karmas (of the previous life) themselves determine that you will be born as a manushya (human).

I’ll explain in simple steps:

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1. How, in general, the next birth is decided

At every moment, by:

• our thoughts (bhav),
• our speech, and
• our actions,

under the influence of kashaya (anger, ego, deceit, greed) and mithyātva (wrong belief), the soul attracts and binds different karmas.

At the time of death of any life, two things become especially important:

1. State of mind at death (antim samay no bhav)
2. Specific karmas that are “ripe” and giving result (udaya)

From these, mainly three karmas together fix the type of next birth:

• Āyu karma (life‑span karma) – decides which gati/yonī and how long that life will be. ( jainknowledge.com)
• Anupurvī nāma karma – decides which realm (deva, manushya, tiryanch, narak) the soul “moves” to. ( jainknowledge.com)
• Gati‑determining bhav – the overall punya/pāp and intensity of passions that support that āyu.

No god, no Tirthankar, no pujari decides it. Only your own karmic bondage and bhav do.

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2. What is needed for manushya gati in the next birth?

To be born as a human, the soul must bind:

1. Manushya āyu karma – human life‑span karma
2. Manushya anupurvī nāma karma – the “directional” karma for human realm
3. Other supporting nāma and gotra karmas that shape body, status, family etc.

2.1. Which bhav bind manushya āyu?

Traditional Jain explanation (Digambar and Shvetambar both agree in principle):

• Mixture of punya and mild–moderate kashāya

- Some good deeds: charity, service to saints, helping others, partial self‑control, some dharmic activities. - But not very high detachment; still attachment to family, respect, comfort, name–fame.

• Not too cruel, not extremely violent like hell‑gati souls.
• Not very pure and intense punya with high detachment, which usually gives deva āyu.

So, in previous lives, a soul that:

• respects dharma a little,
• does some punya (dān, dayā, satya, upvās, pooja, etc.),
• but still has worldly desires and attachments,

tends to bind human āyu karma.

2.2. Which bhav bind manushya anupurvī?

Anupurvī is like the “travel pattern” of the soul after death.

• Manushya anupurvī is bound when:

- The soul has mixed karmas, - neither extreme cruelty (hell), - nor deep, pure, continuous devotion/renunciation (high deva), - and a generally balanced but worldly life.

So the soul’s general level of punya–pāp and passions supports going to human realm.

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3. Which karmas push to other gatis (for comparison)?

Very briefly:

• Deva gati

- Lots of punya, devotion, charity, protection of life, respect to sadhu–sadhviji, but still with subtle attachment to pleasure and honour. ( jainknowledge.com)

• Tiryanch gati (animals, insects, plants)

- Heavy delusion, ignorance, and habits of carelessness and lower instincts; middling violence without the extreme cruelty of narak, and not enough punya or right direction for human or dev.

• Narak gati (hell)

- Very intense kashāya and cruelty: strong anger, hatred, torture, enjoyment in hurting others, etc. Constant heavy pāp.

Human birth comes when the soul is somewhere between these extremes.

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4. When exactly was it “fixed” that you will be a manushya?

According to Jain karma theory:

• Āyu karma is bound while living, not at the last micro‑second only.
• At some point in the previous birth (or even earlier lives), through a certain strong bhav pattern, you bound manushya āyu for a future life.
• When that manushya āyu came into fruition and other supporting karmas matched, this present human birth occurred.

So:

> In one or more past lives, through a combination of > – some punya and > – moderate kashāya and worldly attachments, > you bound manushya āyu and manushya anupurvī; > therefore, in this birth, you became a human.

No external “committee” decided it.

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5. Role of punya and pāp inside human birth

Even within manushya gati, karmas decide:

• rich or poor, healthy or sick,
• birth in dharmic family or adharmic,
• beauty–ugliness, strength–weakness,
• intelligence, surroundings, opportunities for satsang etc.

These come mainly from:

• different nāma karmas (body-related),
• gotra karma (status-related),
• plus remaining darshan‑mohaniya and charitra‑mohaniya (deluding karmas).

So “I became a human” is a broad result; what kind of human is further decided by more detailed karmas.

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6. Any difference between Digambar & Shvetambar views?

On the basic principle:

• Birth in manushya gati is due to:

- manushya āyu karma, - manushya anupurvī nāma karma, - supported by specific bhav and other karmas.

Both traditions agree.

Differences are only in:

• names of sub‑types,
• some numerical descriptions,
• some story‑examples in their respective scriptures and commentaries.

But no difference in core idea: next birth, including human birth, is 100% karmic, self‑made.

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7. What to do now, having human birth?

In Jain view, manushya gati is the best gati for dharma and for moving towards moksha. ( jainknowledge.com)

So, now that past karmas have given you this rare human birth, the aim should be:

• Reduce new bondage (samvar):

- control krodh, mān, māyā, lobh, - follow ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, aparigraha as much as you can.

• Destroy old karmas (nirjarā):

- pratikraman, dhyān, tapas (upvās, ekāsan, etc.), - seva of sadhus and support true dharma.

• Move towards samyak darshan – samyak jnān – samyak chāritra.

Then, instead of worrying “who decided my next birth,” you start changing the causes of your future births from now.

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If you want, you can also read related discussions on JainKnowledge about gati, āyu karma, and anupurvī here: You can read more here and here .